Jaune Arc: The Accidental Hero
by Juane Arc
Summary: There once existed a boy who wished to become a Hero. Who desired to become a Hero so strongly that he would cheat, lie, and steal into to gain even a single chance of getting strong enough to potentially become a Hero. This is the story of that boy after he made a vow to never become a Hero due to a small change in his world. This is a story of Jaune The Gamer and fake hero.
1. The Hero Awakens!

Inspired by **Jaune Arc: Hero of Vytal **(JA: HoV) by **Kartofel von Kouch**, **Jaune: The Gamer** (J:TG) by **Desodus**, and **The Games We Play **(TGWP) by **rgm0005**. Further influenced by various other The Gamer crossovers as well as the **Legendary Moonlight Sculptor Light Novels.** I do not own RWBY, The Gamer, or Legendary Moonlight Sculptor as both are property of their respective owners Roosterteeth, Sung San-Young, and Nam-Hi-Sung

Reading The Gamer webcomic, I felt sad that the main character would always make strange and potentially unwise decisions due to his confirmed to be staying low WIS. I wondered how well the MC would have done had he continued to gain strength on his own without giving the secret away to anybody, as well as what could be done with crafting.

So I read up on The Gamer crossovers to feel better. None precisely fit what I wanted so I just decided to write something and see how it goes.

First story, will probably be updated oddly

Note: I wanted to have both small and large numbers of Lien drop later so I made Lien like cents/yen rather than like dollars/euros.

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Jaune Arc: The Accidental Hero<strong>**

****Prologue****

****The Hero Awakens!****

Once there was a boy who like many other young children was read fairy tales by his caretakers. Stories of Heroes and Villains, Dungeons and Monsters, Knights and Princesses, and much much more. But among all of the stories that the boy was read, his favorite by far were stories about Legendary Heroes; Heroes chosen by Fate to achieve a great Destiny.

Should Fate actually exist, she undoubtedly has a sense of cruel irony.

Because you see the boy who once dreamed about being the Chosen One, the Legendary Hero, the Savior, and many other pretentious sounding titles that only a small child can fully believe in, eventually the boy noticed something strange about the stories; that the greater the story, the more likely that even the seemingly limitless Hero would be drawn to death.

So the boy looked for proof, believing in the **Heroes** that he so loved.

The video games that the boy played as 'training' until he got big enough to go out and kill lots of Grim, seemed pretty obvious.

**The Hero** barring exceptional circumstances, was the only one able to access many menus, see stats, put up queues, and most importantly train to **rapidly gain levels** against the most unlikely of foes, to **triumph** over unreasonable foes on a daily basis; and possibly look good while doing it.

So in real life it must be the same.

The vast majority of the people just **weren't getting stronger fast enough**; so logically they must not have been **Heroes.**

And the most successful people in the world; people who actually had a chance of being a **Hero** must have been too humble to share their exploits with the world.

But some of those fake-slow-to-grow **Heroes** came from the boys own family.

And while the boy loved the concept of **Heroes** with as much power as a certain other worlds city destroying bombs, the boy loved his family with the searing intensity of a second sun.

So with belief in his family the boy did something no young child should ever do; he decided to open a history book to look for support of the greatness of **Heroes.**

What he found was the truth.

**Heroes die.**

Most of them **die pathetically**.

And most of those who did **Heroic actions** were **crushed long before** they could prove themselves enough to be individually remembered as a **Hero** at all.

Many even became a lesson of what not to do, a shame that lasts until someone else even 'stupider', 'more foolish', 'more hopeless', and so forth came along.

The stories that had created such conflict in him in the first place, that shook his belief in Heroes, that tormented the boy enough that the boy _**nearly tripped**_ while dancing with his sisters...

they were the **safest** stories where Heroes had the **least gruesome** fates, ending up with the **most **probable gains, and it was in fact **far more expected** that any to strive to become a **Hero** would end up suffering a far grimmer fate; with even the bad pun being unable to cheer the boy up.

Seeing a short life of repeated mockery, depressingly likely failure, and sudden inglorious death... that day the boy lost all desire to become any type of Hero; especially a Legendary Hero, with the boy pledging to never become a Hero regardless of what happened from then on, and to just take care of his sisters, and when they became older, to just take care of himself.

But also on that day, the very moment after the boy gave his solemn oath... the world awakened the boys Semblance.

….

...

...

..

.

**(The Gamer)**

**Lv2 Jaune Arc**

**"WHY AM I THE PROTAGONIST!?"**


	2. The Hero Plots World Domination!

I do not own RWBY or The Gamer as both are property of their respective owners **Roosterteeth** and **Sung San-Young.**

This chapter took so long due to having trouble making Jaune sound like a smart 9 year old.

Not a genius: He wanted to lower his graphics setting to reduce his *A* due to *B*, gaining a small but constant advantage over everyone else. Then use that advantage to pickpocket *X* and then lie to *X* saying that he found it on the ground. Gaining skills and levels in stealth, lying, and steal then moving to *PLACE* to deal with a basic security system, discovered his ability to learn skills from books, and went and absorbed *STUFF* series then utilized that knowledge to *STUFF*….putting him well on a projected path of economically conquering the world before he became a teenager.

Then I overcompensated.

Making him into a moron.

Jaune II saw his *ITEM* and didn't bother to check it and so didn't find a hint to the *REASON* for Jaune to get The Gamer as a semblance in the first place; literally making Jaune unable to advance in the why and how of his receiving his powers at all. So this idiot ended up just leveling up lying while being unable to come up with a better method of skill grinding; basically putting him at a point where I would end up time skipping him to a teenager, losing the opportunity of actually having Jaune meet *TIME SENSITIVE GROUP*, pretty much making my story end up as a poor mans fix fic of **Jaune: The Gamer**, with the 'fix' being a somewhat stronger Jaune something that would render my writing the story as pointless.

So this version is an attempt to move in between the two extremes; and because of that I actually got my first review before hand.

**Cuervo Blanco**: Deviation from canon is the plan, and as for becoming a Villain… I suppose it depends on what you consider a Villain. Since neutrality and a heavy dose self-interest in the world of RWBY can quite quickly end up… places, but in the end perception governs everything.

_Italics _are thoughts

**Bolds** are either skills or words given great importance

Underline is given to things which need emphasis

And a combination of the above combines the meanings

* * *

><p><strong>Jaune Arc: The Accidental Hero<strong>

**Chapter 1**

**The Hero Plots World Domination!**

On a giant rabbit bed sits a boy of around 9 or 10 years of age.

The boy has messy light blonde hair and sea-blue eyes. And is in a onesie pajama with blue bunny slippers added on.

The boys eyes appear to be focused on something, even though anyone else looking would see claim that nothing is in that direction.

They would be wrong.

The boy is looking at… no glaring at, a screen, one that says the following:

**Skill List:**

* * *

><p><strong>A Gamer's Mind (Passive) Lv Max<strong>

**Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through. Allows peaceful state of mind. Immunity to psychological status effect.**

**A Gamer's Body (Passive) Lv Max**

**Grants a body that allows for the user to live the real world like a game.**

* * *

><p><em>No matter how many times I looked at it, those two skills marked me as being a Hero. At worst I was, as I thought before, the protagonist; i.e. the one who in the real world would be doomed to die a miserable death.<em>

_I was calmer now. Luckily I managed to play off my scream last night as being frustrated by a video game. Less... luckily I also managed to _create_a new skill while doing so._

* * *

><p><strong>Lying (Passive) Lv 1 EXP: 65.43%<strong>

**The Gamers ability to lie increases and you take less damage to reputation when being caught in a lie.**

**5% increase in lie effectiveness**

**2.5% decrease in reputation loss when caught lying**

**1% increase in lie acceptance rate**

* * *

><p><em>I am a bit conflicted about this skill.<em>

_Should I be reading this skill correctly, in the event that I level up this skill I will get a passive benefit to having any lie I give being accepted __regardless of how impossible my lie is__. It will also in through dust knows how means, actually make my any lie I give __seem more realistic __regardless of my own admittedly bad natural ability to lie. It will also even __do damage control __for me, allowing me to lie more often._

_All in all, had I gained this skill in a videogame, I would suddenly decide to tell every vendor that I'm short 1 coin of the price that they want me to pay, lament to every npc looking for strong soldiers that I'm only a level one peon, and attempt to flirt with every female npc by telling them that they're by far the most beautiful woman that I've ever seen; which is patently untrue-my mom looks much better than any of them after all._

_But the problem here is…._

_I gained this skill in _**_real life._**

_Should I lie here, and fail in my 'skill grinding',-It's not like I can just rel-_

…

_.._

_._

**_NO! I WON'T TEST IT!_**

…

_.._

_._

"Actually… do I even have an options menu?"

With a large inhale of breath and the closing of his eyes, followed by an equally large exhale of breath accompanied by the opening of his eyes, the boy solemnly speaks a single word.

"Options."

* * *

><p><strong>Gameplay<strong>

**Video**

**Sound**

* * *

><p>"Ha…" The boy gives a tired sigh while pressing his hand against his forehead<p>

_I guess I do._

"So it's like that then? Alright Jaune you can do this." says the newly crowned Gamer Jaune tonelessly.

_Looking through everything so far I've got this._

_1) I don't have difficulty levels: I can't warp the world to get max exp through weakening a foe to almost nothing in super easy mode, then kill them in insanely hard mode; nor can I just make life easier by turning the entire game to the easiest mode permanently either._

_2) I do have subtitles; which I turned on and placed into common, though having subtitles in Ancient Roma or Old Albion would be interesting, I need to stay focused on my current _**_real__ and __deadly_**_ situation rather than on just doing things for fun._

_3) I do have tutorials, which were automatically turned off-something suspicious considering that such an option usually is only turned off on new game plus runs._

_4) I do have various graphic options, but the menu notes that said graphics only relates to what effects I create. _

_5) I do have several sound options, and I can see the potential to spy with these skills. Just increase the volume of conversations and decrease the volume of the background equals instant win. The opposite also would help if escort missions exist; increase the sound of something trying to sneak up on you, decrease the sound of the annoying npc attracting everything in the area to come kill it, equaling more experience points as well._

_This can be added on to my previous knowledge._

_From my other two skills:_

_6) Should I trust that my skill covers all HP loss under A Gamer's Body, rather than just HP lost through giving myself a small cut with my scissors, I will:_

_a) Show no signs of being wounded until I receive a serious injuries or possibly never; depends on the game system._

_b) Heal from any injury that doesn't cause a status effect given time._

_c) And potentially be able to fight at full power regardless of how much damage I take as long as I don't gain a negative status effect or get cursed under a debuff._

_7) Should I trust that psychological; actually had to look that up in a dictionary, from a Gamer's Mind means anything affecting my mind or emotions, I will:_

_a) Never fall for mind control (that isn't explicitly a powerful skill)._

_b) Never act like a complete moron around girls when I get a bit older._

_c) And never completely lose control of my ability to think things through before doing anything._

_From lying I gain:_

_8) Increase in counter mind control, and increase in manipulation abilities._

_From my status window I gain:_

_9) My HP and MP are both 50 for some reason. __Despite the fact that my VIT is 2 and my INT is 6; this suggests that HP/MP is based on level or more likely that other people had this power before and built their low level character as a complete min-maxer, with this measure being here to stop it._

_10) The Gamer is my class, and I'm 9. Or in other words, I should be able to get some sort of item or skill that allows me to see other peoples classes and ages._

_11) I not just see levels, but can see how far I am from my next level; something that may or may not apply to other people whose status screen I look at. I'm currently level 2 with 5.06% in the current level. Which isn't yet helpful until I see more people my own age when I go back to school on monday._

_12) My STR and DEX are 3, my WIS is 4, and oddly enough my LUK is 55. Or maybe not so oddly; since I have four tabs in my skills one labeled 'all available skills', another labeled 'all active skills', a third labeled 'all passive skills', and the fourth labeled 'all unavailable skills'. This fourth tab gives me another gem:_

* * *

><p><strong>A Random Walk Lv MAX: <strong>

**An ability given to the few users that are born with an exceptionally high amount of luck.**

**Helps fulfill a single limited wish that the user would otherwise be unable to achieve on their own.**

* * *

><p><em>That ability most likely picked up on my feelings when I was defending Heroism in my mind earlier and so decided to use it's once in a lifetime wish granting ability to attract everything from killer squirrels to deity class grimm for me to fight and level up against… or at least I <em>_hope __I gain experience to level up by killing things; I could be a horror game Hero and end up being useless at fi-_

"**NOPE**. Nope. Nope. Not thinking about that." Says Jaune while rapidly shaking his head side to side.

_Anyway on to... uh.. 13?_

_13) My STR and DEX being so low is probably a result of my stats being compared to the average game protagonist who is 15; the age of a second or third year student at a Primary Hunter Academy; old enough to include fanservice, old enough to cater for those who like younger partners, and still young enough to cater to those who want older partners as well in the same setting. If that's the case, probably the base stat of strength is around 10 and I'll probably see a lot of level 3 or 4 students._

_14) I have points… or rather I can have points in the future. This means when I finally do gain a level, I will actually be able to distribute my points in some fashion._

_15) It counts my 500 Lien super-secret-savings-for-sweets-to-appease-the-sugar-demons somehow. But it __DIDN'T__ take away that money from me; meaning that my skill can create money._

_Let me repeat that: **MY. SKILL. CAN. CREATE. MONEY.**_

_Those things together suggest what course of action I should take._

_1) Turn on Tutorial in order to learn about this game._

_2) Exploit the tutorials as much as possible._

_3) Find out if I can get look to drop by whacking trees with a stick; or better yet use a wooden sword and possibly gain weapon mastery for the future._

_4) Gain Lien_

_5) ?_

"Hmm… something looks familiar with this scheme though…?" ponders Jaune while tilting his head quizzingly. "Ah well… I suppose I can think about that later; if I only have a few hours until bedtime after all."

_And so I reach my hand out press the button._

And the world distorts into a new form.


	3. The Hero Conquers The Twin Mountains,

I do not own RWBY or The Gamer as both are property of their respective owners **Roosterteeth** and **Sung San-Young.**

I'm actually not sure if I should keep the titles as is; I'm trying for the same overdramatic feel as The Gamer web comic; cheesed up with 'Heroism'.

To a certain extent I wanted the chapters to have the short story feel of it's two primary sources, but I may end up changing that in the future.

On another note: I see at least a few errors between when I create this in word pad to transfer to Google docs and then move it here though. But I still don't get how I missed my lost 'to' from 'to press the button.' near the end of the last chapter.

Maybe I shouldn't try to finish one of these mini-chapters a day in parody of the short chapter styles of The Gamer web comic…

Also, while it may have been a bit unclear, Chapter 1 took place a few hours after the Prologue. I wanted to convey that the boy shouted, and with real life consequences... suffered certain consequences due to the place that he was in, enough so that the boy intensely focused on the issue because it brought him humiliation.

So he ended up sounding even smarter than even a normal very intelligent wise cracking 9 year old should in the last chapter.

So he'll sound dumber this time.

Or rather...

Version 1: Molested the guide so hard that I had no choice but to have him killed.

Version 2: Spent the whole chapter being told "To move you simply move.", "To go left you simply go left.", inspired by a certain Omake about Ms. Jump from TGWP the spacebattles forum...

So I guess Version 3 is still better than the other two at least.

Still because he forgot to do something at the start of the conversation, writing this chapter was a bit annoying. It's supposed to be symbolic of how someone can think logically, but at the same time still end up doing illogical things without realizing it.

This chapter was supposed to feel less like an info-dump through use of humor with an odd character who is here for a reason… But, it may now just feel like a chapter where nothing happens instead.

**Cuervo Blanco:** As noted above, I've been trying to make this in the same short story style that both The Gamer and RWBY. This chapter is longer and has more things happening... but at the same time it has a lot less information in it as well. So I'm honestly not certain if using this style is better or not. It's entertaining for me to write in this style... but as a style it lacks organization. Still I hope you continue to give me your valued critique of this story.

**SeijuroRen** & **Shugokage**: Thank you for the support. Also I hope that I'm going somewhere a bit original already with this chapter…

_Italics_ are thoughts

**Bold** are either skills or words given great importance

Underline is given to things which need emphasis

And a combination of the above combines the meanings

* * *

><p><strong>Jaune Arc: The Accidental Hero<strong>

**Chapter 2**

**The Hero Conquers The Twin Mountains, but...**

Suddenly Jaune landed on a pure white platform void of all life. An empty silent realm of nothing but whiteness extended out in all directions.

And no it was not Heaven…

Nor was it Hell…

But rather, just Somewhere…

This plane I ended up in, appeared out of nowhere...

not movement,

nor a form of teleportation,

but rather just appearing in this space between one moment and the next…

_Maybe I should have armed myself before I left._ I note internally while grinning at my own stupidity.

_I mean this looks a lot like a battle aren-_

Then suddenly a beautiful girl in a black dress with intricate patterns appears right in front of me. Her deep azure blue ey-

"Are those real?" Jaune woodenly whispers with a suddenly frozen grin on his face.

"Um.. are what real? I am afraid that I do not understand what you mean?" Says the confused sounding teenager with her sky blue eyes slightly clouded, who was wearing a black dress, black stockings, black shoes, black ribbons tying up her twin tails, some weird thing hanging over her crotch for some reason, and another weird thing clasped to her neck.

_Maybe it's Hunter equipment of some sort? Nah.. she looks too... clumsy to be a fighter. _Evaluates Jaune as the girl speaks.

"Those." I repeat with a more neutral look on my face as I calm down.

***ping***

**A skill has been created through a special action.**

**Through the power of your actions both verbal and nonverbal, 'Intimidate' has been created.**

**Mastery of the skill Intimidate increases.**

* * *

><p><strong>Intimidate (Active and Passive) EXP: Lv 1 66.66%<strong>

**A skill that releases a feeling of blood thirst into the surrounding area. It is the fundamental art of aggressive negotiation that encompasses Heaven, Earth, and Man.**

**It can be enhanced by releasing Aura (MP) at the same time. Minimum usage of MP is 10.**

**Gains special effects at higher levels.**

**Passively increases non-verbal social harassment skills by 10%**

**Passively increases non-verbal social assault skills by 5%**

**Passively increases verbal social harassment skills by 5%**

**Passively increases verbal social assault skills by 2.5%**

**Actively increases in strength and range depending on MP usage.**

* * *

><p>"? I apologize but that does not exactly tell me what you are asking me about. Could you please provide a bit more clarification of what you wish to know about?" Hesitantly asks the baffled girl smiling in a somewhat puzzled fashion, while starting to clasp her hands over her lap whic-<p>

"Please think more carefully about what anyone would wonder is fake while looking at you for the first time princess." I say while **Smiling Angelically** with a hint of something else inside my suddenly soft and gentle sounding voice.

**Mastery of the skill Intimidate increases.**

**Intimidate's level goes up by one.**

**Intimidate's level goes up by one.**

**Intimidate's level goes up by one.**

* * *

><p><strong>Intimidate (Active and Passive) EXP: Lv 4 44.44%<strong>

**A skill that releases a feeling of blood thirst into the surrounding area. It is the fundamental art of aggressive negotiation that encompasses Heaven, Earth, and Man.**

**It can be enhanced by releasing Aura (MP) at the same time. Minimum usage of MP is 10.**

**Gains special effects at higher levels.**

**Passively increases non-verbal social harassment skills by 16%**

**Passively increases non-verbal social assault skills by 8%**

**Passively increases verbal social harassment skills by 8%**

**Passively increases verbal social assault skills by 4%**

**Actively increases in strength and range depending on MP usage.**

* * *

><p>"Ah.. while my father was a high ranking druid who owned a lot of lands... I was not quite a princess." apologizes the girl while looking a bit red for some reason,<p>

"You were close though!" notes the girl more brightly.

_I can practically hear the 'So please don't give up and try again!' to that statement…_

"Still fake? Fake? Fake?" Tilting her head slightly the girl ponders. Then she looks down at herself and stares at her body with a look of deep concentration in her eyes.

…

..

.

"Is it my dress?" wonders the girl,

_...airhead_

"If so then I assure you that it is made from **real **silk and fabric.. 21 Finest Fabric, 21 Finest Silk, 21 Fine Fabric, 14 Fine Silk, 21 Tough Thread, 4 Finest Finishing Threads, and 1 Braid to be exact. Explains the girl with a slightly proud look on her face, puffing out her-

*I twitch but manage to contain myself* _...just an airhead…_

"I tailored it myself... most dresses do not fit me properly after all.", finishing off by placing a hand on her-

**"Are you mocking me!?'** I shout while pointing a finger menacingly at the girl with my left arm,

"EEpp!?" Squeaks the girl while stumbling back.

***ping***

***ping***

"If you **are**..." with a still intact smile, but a deadly glare promising of pain and destruction obliterating the positive effect of the smile completely;

*thud* as the girl falls down.

"Ow... th-" starts the girl before feeling the intense danger in the air.

***ping***

"...then I'll **THROW** these 1 Lien coins at you!" I promise while menacingly reaching my other hand into the dark portal that suddenly appeared above and behind my right shoulder; placing myself in a pitchers throwing stance almost unconsciously.

***ping***

"NO! P-please don- not do that. I'm s-s-orry for whatever I just did." stutters the girl while flailing her arms around into circles around her upper body.

_Huh... she's sort of cute like that? Maybe I shouldn't..._

"P-lease have mercy on me. I will do whatever you want!." mournfully pleads the girl with her hands held together; as if in prayer, in front of her-

*something shatters like glass*

"Then let me educate you properly." says Jaune in a completely normal voice.

"Ed-ducate you properly?" parrots the girl while looking even more confused.

"Yes." Jaune walks towards the girl in a completely ordinary fashion.

"I learned my lesson with Lily. Ignoring it does not work." Jaune moves his hand downward while bending forward in a completely normal way.

"This must be done to end this here today in a peaceful fashion." continues Jaune in his completely normal voice while continuing to move his hand until…

*poke*

"Mm?!" girl.

*grope*

"Ah!? T-t-ha-" girl again.

*double handed grab*

"Mmmm!" surprisingly, the girl once more.

*massages lightly*

"Ohh... not th-" it's Jaun-nope Jaune lied, it's the girl again.

*massages intensely*

"Ahn!" guess who moaned; hint: not Jaune

…

..

.

**And then they had a fun ti-**

"Wait wait stop stop stop!" shouts out the girl who suddenly backed away. "You haven't gotten my fla-, no I mean my clossne-, that is to say-" trying hard to make a point while jiggling and panicking with visible tears and near visible stars in her eyes, and for some reason hearts impossibly appear to be floating around her,

_Who is this girl? Guess I'll find out_

As the girl who is now far enough away from me to read her 3 vital statistics.

...

..

.

**(The Guide)**

**Lv 12 Now Eiriota Prier 'dRias**

...What kind of stupid name is that?

...

...WAIT!

..

_...That airhead is..._

_Exactly what part of her is stronger th-no.. I'll reflect later, need to handle this now._

"I apologize." I said quietly.

"I...Huh?" said the girl with the really long name.

"suuuu..." I take in a deep breath. _You can do this Jaune._

"I have 7 sisters you see." I start while opening my eyes.

"4 of them are older than I am and 3 of them are younger than I am. The youngest of my sisters is only 6, while the oldest of my sisters is 15. My second to oldest sister is 14, and my 3rd and 4th oldest sisters are identical twins who are both 13. My second to youngest sister is 7, and my sister who is closest in age to me is a year younger at 8 years old." I speak at high speed while otherwise staying completely still with a blank look on my face.

"Eh?" questions longy.

"My mother didn't have me until 4 years afterwards in order to properly rest after having the twins. I was born during Autumn due to my parents deciding to conceive me on Saint Sylvest-, that is to say the last day of the old year." I continue as if I hadn't heard her.

"My older sisters celebrated when they stopped being fla-, that is to say they celebrated their growth." I start off calm, " . .Them.", then end with as if making a grand proclamation.

_I worry about when little Nero grows up.. No matter how large she grows her ego i- not the time for this!_

"They also celebrated whenever gained in cup size." I said while walking closer to her.

_They wanted to celebrate every time they gained a centimeter but even then, I could only be pushed so far until I snapped._

"They also had me help them buy new matching underwear for them, and carry all of their luggage from their celebratory shopping sprees." I said while walking close enough to the apparently strong girl to grope her again if I wanted to.

_That doesn't even take into account that one time Lily dragged Arthuria and me to an adult underwear store-luckily the owner wouldn't serve a pair of 12 year olds regardless of how much money they had._

I grab the strangely named girls shoulders lightly and gently.

"Eh?" blinks Now while starting to redden.

"Mr. Piggy, my beloved wallet died that day. And he was killed over and over again." I whisper while leaning closer to her.

"They wanted presents you see. It was a big occasion. They said one day I would pay money to see breasts as nice as theirs... and that I was LUCKY that they let me touch and feel them up for free." I continued to whisper to her.

..

.

_Puberty is really going to suck isn't it..?_

*Now starts to blush deeply*

"So I had to buy them gifts, going bankrupt." I said while cupping one of her checks.

_Hmm soft…_

"Carry their bags, further being drained of life." I said while staring into her eyes with all my soul. _Think of how much you love mom Jaune! Use that look on her! Mommmm!_

"Then massage their breasts because I was soooo good at it." I speak in a higher pitched voice with a slight scowl. _Channel Cousin Marie! Channnel!_

"And the only reason I was so 'good', was, heh.. because I massaged their shoulders from such a young age." I continued in my ordinary voice.

"You see I noticed how sore Sieglinde, that is to say my oldest sister actually looked. She'd been training under Dad, who as a high class Hunter didn't really notice small aches and pains anymore." _Uncle Charlemagne lend me power!_

_I also used to have a crush on her since but nope, not mentioning that._

..

.

_FOCUS! Use Uncle some more!_

"So I just had to help her." I restart. _Grandpa Juane when he's serious!_

"Then I couldn't be unfair..." I continue. _Grandpa Juane reflecting on the death of old friends!_

"I had to help out my other sisters", I end without mentioning how until recently all of them would have cried had I showed favoritism to any of them.

_Now it's just most of them.._

..

.

"suuu.." I start taking another deep breath.

"So you see, I'm really bad with girls showing off their chests." _Father when he-explains-things- that-have-nothing-to-do-with-Hunters!_

"Bu-" attempts to interject the French (?) girl.

"Yes, I understand." while moving my hand on her shoulder to her lower back. _Ms. Brown the dancing teacher aunty!_

"You were not trying to show off at all at me were you," I note while smiling softly. _Brown brown brown! _

"You just so happened to have acted in a way very similar to my sisters, so it brought out my trauma. Don't worry though, I don't blame you for it; it's not like you could choose what physical features you would be born with." as I slightly moves Now without her noticing using the **Power of Dancing**.

_Position her like granduncle Iskandar said to 'have maximum in thrusting power and leave her off balance enough to defeat her with her own power!' _

_...that always sounds so stupid though_

"U-u-m!?" Now stutters out while looking at me wide eyed and as red as a tomato.

"So I really am sorry. I'll make it up to you." *kisses forehead* _ISSKAANNDAAR!_

I take yet another deep breath in while closing my eyes briefly.

"I swear an oath to that..." I start as reopen my eyes to gaze at her own similar, yet dissimilar eyes.

"...as the heir to the Arc family." I continue. _Though that's only due to being the only MALE left; plenty of girls to be heir__esses_ _to the family._

"Family that has vanquished Grimm for over three millennia. Family that once crushed everything that stood in their way. Family founded by the children of the great Savior Heracles; the one who sealed away the Greater Grimms with his very soul." I continue while starting to reflect on our family history.

_At least that's our family legend... seeing as we actually can't trace back beyond Julius around two thousand years ago and people wanted to kill that guy so hard... we can't even claim descent from Artus without all those so-called 'grown-ups' throwing a tantrum._

"haa..." I breath out.

"And you know why he did that?" _Grandpa Juane!_

"Suu.." I once more breath in deeply, *tap tap tap* then start walking away

"He did that based on a simple promise... A single oath." _Juane POWEERR!_

*tap tap tap* as I continue to walk away.

"Not one to another person, but one on the grave of his first wife Megara after her demise due to the work of a great monster. A promise to sacrifice anything... absolutely anything that he needed to, in order to create a world where people could stay free. He created a millennium long seal with that will, through that promise alone."

_Or he could have felt for the other several thousand women that he had during his lifetime, and have made similar promises that were just lost to time... And that doesn't take into account the hundreds of bastards that Mr. Manly had when he was too careless to remember when the person he was sleeping with could get pregnant…_

_So maybe he wanted them to be better off as a selfish jerk with a legacy or something instead…_

…

_.._

_Oh crap what stance was I in? Channel my father as he told those Hero stories now!_

I stop and turn around towards her before starting

"And so... I give my word as Jaune Arc, son of Arthur Arc **the Dragon of Vytal**, grandson of Juane Arc **the Avenger**, great-grandson of my namesake Jaune Arc **the Rebuilder**, great-great-great grandson of Julia d'Arc the Red Priestess, seven times great grandson of Jeanne d'Arc the **Maid of Orleans"**, I speak in a slow but clear whisper,

"fourteen times great grandson of Emperor Charlemagne **the Father of Belka**, twenty six times great grandson of Siegfried **the Dragon Slayer**", while slowly increasing the volume and intensity of my words,

"twenty nine times great grandson of King Artus **the Living Fairy Tale**, forty third times great grandson of Gaius Julius Caesar **the Yellow Death**, sixty sixth times great grandson of Hercules **the Founder of the Arc**", until the end,

"and sixty seven times great grandson of **HERACLES the GREAT SAVIOR OF THE ENTIRE WORLD!**", where my shouts shake the platform as if in challenge to the Heavens themselves.

…

..

.

_Crap! I ended up getting too into it. I shouldn't have included 'Yellow Death' or 'Dragon Slayer'- they just sound violent! I don't even know if she knows what Belka is. And what's so impressive about 'Rebuilder' without knowing of the Great Library of Alexandria?!_

_Or maybe she doesn't even know what a Dragon is in the first place! _

_.._

_._

_I need to attack! _

_Kill or be killed! _

_Maybe if I try choking her with her own dress! _

_WAIT! WHY can I think of killing her so easily?! I decided not to become a Hero becau-_

_The skill! It must have- but then?! Urrgaahhgnnh! _

I feel my face reddening from the endless sea of emotions that clash inside me briefly before being dispelled as if it never existed by what I suspect to be '**A Gamer's Mind'.**

..

.

"Um... but if you don't want me to then that's fine too..?" I finish off lamely after the long pause with my still red face.

And then Now suddenly faints.

*thunk* as she falls to the ground.

***ping***

***ping***

***ping***

***ping***

***ping***

"Uh... Hello? " I question. "Are you alright over there?" I continue.

_Part 1 END_


	4. The Hero Is Then Beaten By A Food Item!

I do not own RWBY or The Gamer as both are property of their respective owners **Roosterteeth** and **Sung San-Young.**

I also do not own Mabinogi either, it's owned by **Nexon** and **devCAT Studio.**

Naruto is owned by **Masashi Kishimoto**.

* * *

><p>For people confused about the location... then they're in something very similar to the Mabinogi Soul Stream.<p>

They are at location because the OC introduced last chapter was mostly 'born' from various parts of

someplace similar to that game as a core...

As for most of the other questions they are mostly answered by either:

"Where do you find NPC characters from for **The Gamer** ability to use in the real world?"

or

"What does it mean to be **The Gamer**?"

The answer to the first question is: "A great deal of partial recycling from places with a similar system to the **RWBY**

world takes place." The characters are different enough from the original to claim that they're odd OC

rather than AU of the characters they are based on. And I can give them names befitting

of the fact that they were created by a multi-genre game combiner skill

It's why interaction on both sides of the equation was so... odd.

The answer to the second question is directly related to that:

Mabinogi runs on Keyword based conversation. He never talked about the subject directly,

So he kept getting default greeter responses in return.- **The Gamer** helped translate

from another game world's style to his own.

Remember, Jaune first thought he was the protagonist...

Or in other words, that he was the **RPG** **Designated Hero** who was just given **The Call.**

It is why he wondered about common **RPG** exploits rather than **video game** exploits as a whole.

**RPG tutorials** are free experience for doing things that you would probably do anyway.

If he was in an **RPG** since **The Call Knows Where You Live,**

it was his family that was in danger in the early game rather than him.

Which is why he was able to be only worried at the tutorial area looking like a arena rather than outright afraid.

He wondered about **NG+** because MMORPG games tend not to have that feature,

and in MMORPG games it's more dangerous to be the character than the characters family.

Either way he needed to get stronger, but an **MMORPG** style protagonist generally didn't have to advance the storyline,

while an **RPG** style protagonist generally did have to eventually advance the storyline.

He then went on to do what **RPG** MC characters do during a tutorial.

See the limits of what you can do, and what you can get.

So when the **greeter NPC** wasn't responding to him, he tried one of the time honored methods of making them respond.

Get angry and press all the buttons. At which point he activated his power.

And took a **Dating Sim** type option;

hence her response afterwards ending up more confused than anything else, since that's how Dating Sim logic works

As his power took her true NPC status, as someone created for the tutorial by his power...

it tried to push her from her original game type, an **MMORPG**, to a **Dating Sim.**

Hence her responding first with '**flags'** and then correcting herself with** 'closeness'** the actual system that **The Gamer**

uses.

Then she realized that neither was the point and tried to bring it back to her **'The Guide'**

duties while ignoring what happened; which is what NPC's in **MMORPG** games in general do.

Jaune then acted like an **RPG** MC that may be about to land an **Early Game Bad End **when he saw her level.

But, since he couldn't think of a way to fight someone so many levels beyond him in an empty plane;

one that lacked even a handy **Insurmountable Waist-Height Fence** to exploit like mad...

He immediately attempted to resolve the conflict with conversation.

And since she was probably the one going to make him do **The Call** as **'The Guide'**,

he reassured her that he had no intention of refusing** The Call**.

That in fact his family had spent the last as long as the family could boast time being Heroes.

And that he was even the heir to that family and that he would help her.

The correct responses to make when the **RPG** quest giver can kill you or decide to give you another chance.

And added to that is how gamers shamelessly try to increase their reputation with the other side by boasting as much as possible,

while complimenting their opponents as much as they can. In **RPG** games it can give you better rewards.

And since Jaune has no intention of going far off into the extremely dangerous main story that he sees in his delusions...

every little bit of extra experience is worth it. Same as how in **The Gamer** the MC keeps stressing safety...

except done with Jaunes background instead.

Even more funny: He thinks that he is in a 1-99 RPG or a 1 to maybe 50 or 60 MMORPG.

But that is not the system he is in at all. Level has more to do with experience than it does with strength in **The Gamer** system.

And he just did more **Dating Sim** type activities. Including making her faint. He even got a title for it.

And since he is **The Gamer** rather than

**The RPG Gamer,**

**The Dating Sim Gamer**,

**The Racing Game Gamer,**

Or **The Mystery Game Gamer**,

It has consequences for him.

The poor **Wrong Genre Savvy** little boy.

* * *

><p><strong>Version 1:<strong> Had a third character 15 Levels higher so a certain someone was 20 Levels higher, had him survive by inheriting

some levels of his family martial arts and create a skill, but also made his first enemy, while leaving the plotline of the other NPC unresolved

and annoyed about her line being unresolved.

But seeing all the reviews that expressed confusion, I figured that I should tone down on the expansion of concepts.

Hopefully this version makes more sense; especially taking into account that the previous chapter

and this chapter were supposed to be 1 chapter.

I just ended up spending too long studying for tests on Sunday to finish the chapter on time.

And most of today I was busy actually taking the tests or getting ready for tomorrow.

* * *

><p><em>Italics<em> are thoughts

**Bold** are either skills or words given great importance

Underline is given to things which need emphasis

**_And a combination of the above combines the meanings_ **

* * *

><p><strong>Jaune Arc: The Accidental Hero<strong>

**Chapter 2 Part 2**

**The Hero Is Then Beaten By A Food Item!**

**XXX**

* * *

><p>On a pure white platform void of all life.<p>

An empty silent realm of nothing but whiteness extended out in all directions.

Two people exist.

One is a rather confused looking blonde boy named Jaune in a blue onesie.

The other is a currently unconscious white haired girl named Now in a black dress.

_What do I do?_ wonders the boy frantically

_She didn't look that unfriendly by the end of that. _

_I must have avoided that **Bad End**. _

_I also got pings; maybe I gained a Level?_

_And since she's most likely MY guide anyway; I probably won't have to fight her again._

_I may have just been jumping to conclusions since this place looked like a battle arena._

_Ah well... I'll bake her some cookies or something._

_But first I should look at my oldest missed updates…_

* * *

><p><strong>Mastery of the skill Intimidate upgrades based on previous experience in the ability.<strong>

**.**

**The special effect 'Scare Away Small Animals' has been created through Intimidate rising above level 20.**

**.**

**Intimidate (Active and Passive) EXP: Lv 27 77.77%**

**.**

**A skill that releases a feeling of blood thirst into the surrounding area. It is the fundamental art of**

** aggressive negotiation that encompasses Heaven, Earth, and Man.**

**.**

**It can be enhanced by releasing Aura (MP) at the same time. Minimum usage of MP is 6.**

**.**

**Gains special effects at higher levels.**

**.**

**Passively increases non-verbal social harassment skills by 62%**

**Passively increases non-verbal social assault skills by 31%**

**Passively increases verbal social harassment skills by 31%**

**Passively increases verbal social assault skills by 15.5%**

**Actively increases in strength and range depending on MP usage.**

**.**

**Special Effects:**

**.**

**Scare Away Small Animals:**

**Scares away Tiny sized animals up to 15 levels higher**

**Scares away Small sized animals up to 10 levels higher**

**Scares off Tiny sized Grimm up to 5 levels higher**

**Scares away Medium sized animals of up to 5 levels higher**

**Scares away Small sized Grimm up to the same level**

**Scares away Large sized animals up to the same level**

**.**

* * *

><p><strong>A skill has been created through a special action.<strong>

**Through the power of your actions, 'Killing Intent' has been created.**

**Mastery of the skill Killing Intent increases.**

**Killing Intent (Active and Passive) EXP: Lv 1 20.56%**

**A skill that releases a feeling of impending death into the surrounding area. Can be focused on a smaller**

** area.**

**Gains special effects at higher levels.**

**Passively lowers stamina of any living organism Killing Intent is used on by 5%**

**Passively increases chance to intimidate any living organism by 1%**

**Actively lowers stamina of any living organism under the effect of both Intimidate and Killing Intent by**

** 0.5% of their total per second.**

* * *

><p><strong>Mastery of the skill Killing Intent upgrades based on previous experience in the ability.<strong>

**.**

**Killing Intent (Active and Passive) EXP: Lv 17 33.33%**

**.**

**A skill that releases a feeling of impending death into the surrounding area. Can be focused on a smaller**

** area.**

**.**

**Gains special effects at higher levels.**

**.**

**Passively lowers stamina of any living organism Killing Intent is used on by 13%**

**Passively increases chance to intimidate any living organism by 5%**

**Actively lowers stamina of any living organism under the effect of both Intimidate and Killing Intent by**

** 2.1% of their total per second.**

**.**

* * *

><p><strong>Closeness with Now Eiriota Prier 'dRias has decreased by 5 due to your threats.<strong>

**Currently at 85/100 Friendly.**

* * *

><p>"Hmm... why is the spacing changing?" I wonder vaguely.<p>

_Maybe it's special for 'inheritance' skills only?_

_..._

_But then again my inactive skill didn't have these lines... so what is it?_

_And I guess that answers my question on her being my Guide... _

_she started at too high a level of Friendly to not be predisposed to help me out._

_.._

_.Anyway... did I actually use MP yet or not? In which case... does she count as a small animal or something?_

_.._

_._

_...and moving on._

"Status"

* * *

><p><strong>Name: Jaune Arc<strong>

**Class: The Gamer**

**Age: 9**

**Level: 4**

**Next Level: 61.03%**

**HP: 100**

**MP: 50**

**STR: 4**

**VIT: 3**

**DEX: 4**

**INT: 6**

**WIS: 6**

**LUK: 55**

**Points: 10**

**Lien: 500**

* * *

><p>"What." I stare at the screen blankly with suddenly empty eyes.<p>

"Wait a second..." I start as my eyes begin to sharpen.

_Obviously under videogame logic the Heroes strength grows a lot faster than it would normally, and now I've_

_ confirmed that defeating foes will give me experience..._

_But now I can't tell if I actually used Aura or not since leveling up could have replenished it for all I know…_

_Some game systems just restore HP/MP proportionate to the increase in those stats... while others do a full_

_ restore… __Which does this game system follow I wonder?_

…

..

.

_Still those 5 'pings' just now were most likely my level increasing. Along with something else?_

_But how did my stats increase by such weird __numbers?_

"I guess I should just look at my messages quickly then..?" I continue after the pause while still standing in the same

area as the nearly forgotten unconscious girl.

...

…

..

.

* * *

><p><strong>You've received the title 'Apprentice Lady-killer'<strong>

**(Apprentice Lady-killer)**

**-Obtained by making a girl faint while under the 'small child' debuff.**

**-You have a special talent and interest in being a Dating Sim MC!**

**-Become a Lady-killer and feed that Harem!**

**5% attack/defense bonuses versus female opponents**

**10% additional attack/defense bonuses versus female opponents in social combat**

**+5 to all stats when fighting against women**

**Increased reputation gain with women by 10%**

**Decreased reputation gain with men by 20%**

**Increased sexual drive by 50%**

**Increased stamina by 20% when affected by increased sexual drive**

**Increased encounters with Grimm by 10%**

* * *

><p><em>Yeah... So now the game will reward me for bullying small girls from now on. <em>

_The old 'I can kill your family but then give you 40 stolen cakes and you'll still like me gig?'_

_Not something I want to do when I have sisters of my own..._

_But...it's free stats and I shouldn't be affected by sexual drive yet anyway._

_Still I probably should never equip this title after I hit puberty._

* * *

><p><em>After equipping the title I looked at the rest of the messages...<em>

_The second most important message w__as so simple that I almost missed it._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Due to your habit of making intelligent decisions, you gained 1 WIS.<strong>_

* * *

><p><em>Gaining a stat.<em>

_It means that with training I can grind my statistics upwards without using level ups._

_This is like that games skill books... Save the points until you get to the later harder points and grind, grind, grind _

_instead. Luckily I didn't gain any levels previously; I would have already spent my points on getting_

_my DEX up high enough to run away, or dodge attacks when possible. _

_Don't get into a fight you can't win._

_If you can't avoid that fight then dodge._

_If you can't dodge then deflect._

_If you can't deflect then block._

_If you can't block then survive._

_I never understood why Grandpa Juane said that until today..._

_My family practically specializes in being walking tanks or berserkers... _

_I bet the STR and VIT of my father __is at least 3 digits!_

_But my family has almost zero dodging skills,_

_So when they meet something far stronger than them,_

_They just end up dead._

_So I can still gain massive amounts of DEX and make him proud._

* * *

><p><em>I also had an accompanying long explanation about how I was under the <em>_**'Small Child'**_ persistent debuff,

_which lowers all of my stats compared to what they __should be__. _

_So I really did gain 1 point in my physicals from the benefits of 'maturing earlier than expected for a child your age'_

_which also gave me some bonus experience for the accomplishment._

_I may even get an early growth spurt if this continues-maybe I can still catch up to Lily and Arthuria..._

* * *

><p><em><em>Other than that, two of the remaining three messages were for level ups as expected.<em>_

* * *

><p><em><em>But it was the last message that worried me the most.<em>_

* * *

><p><strong>Closeness with Now Eiriota Prier 'dRias has increased by 20 due to your flirting.<strong>

**Currently at 105/100 Friendly.**

**Due to having increased because of continuous flirting, will upgrade to 5/500 Crush **

**rather than 5/500 Good Friend after the end of the Tutorial**

* * *

><p><em>So it's a counter measure against someone exploiting reputation gains through the Lady-killer line of titles...<em>

_You can't just flirt with everyone to increase how much they like you to get better deals...__So even if I wanted to be a jerk, _

_I would get no benefit from that title from __before anyway... __Since I honestly can't tell from the way that the message is worded..._

_Whether or not it would have switched me to gaining 'Crush' status due to having gotten her over 100 friendly_

_from flirting or, having just flirted too many times with her._

_Another message explained the limits of being in the tutorial. _

_No special attack skills until I reach that part of the tutorial. _

_No equipment other than my 'starting clothing' either. _

_Guess I wouldn't have been able to use my 'toy' baseball bat anyway._

_Yeah... a smaller version of a real solid wood bat enhanced with Aura to be strong as steel by my father,_

_ one of the top 10 strongest __Hunters on the planet is a obviously a 'toy'._

_And does this mean that my onesie along with my school uniform are starting clothing's?_

...

..

_Hmmm should I try it?_

...

"Inventory"

...

..

.

"Looks like I really can take off my starting clothing and have nothing here instead."

_Good to know. _

_Now I can camp this area for experience points even after my Onesie runs out of durability_

_I'm going to safely get every last experience point here that I can!_

.

***ping***

* * *

><p><strong>After detecting overwhelming amount of blood thirst, you unlocked the skill "Detect Blood thirst"<strong>

**Detect Blood thirst (Passive) Lv1: EXP 0.00%**

**A skill that detects any blood thirst directed towards the user.**

**It is an instinctive skill.**

**Detects Bloodlust within 30 meters of the user's location**

**It also alerts the user of it's origin.**

* * *

><p><em>Terror.<em>

_A complete lack of feeling in my body to move my legs…_

_A complete lack of thought to escape._

_A complete lack of-_

_Then it lessens enough that I can_

turn around and see

_Dear Mom, your only son may not live to see tomorrow. Hope your doing well, Jaune._

_Images of my final words speed through my mind_

_As I'm now in the presence of:_

_.._

_._

**(Combat Teacher)**

**Lv 17 Dango Hachimitsu**

**..**

**.**

_Someone 13 levels higher than me; they may be as strong as a real Hunter!_

_Oh crap! O-_

Then as I suddenly calm down out of nowhere…

I look at her again and suddenly feel a lot less weight…

"Why are you naked Ms. Hachimitsu?" I ask the obvious question.

"Why should I answer you pervert?" Spits out the teenaged girl who is as naked as the day she was born.

***ping***

***ping***

_The pings reminds me of the situation that I'm in and…_

"Now I know this looks bad Ms. Hachimitsu." I start. _Really really bad in fact._

"But I promise you that you're mistaken about something here." I say while putting back on my starter clothing.

But she cuts me off moving so fast to Now's side that I barely see a thing.

Monty's Blood, Oum's Beard, Dust's Cradle, ****, ***, **, *-!

As I swear every single bad word I've ever heard in my head...

"No." the demon-_it must be a real demon!_ whispers.

***ping***

"I'm going to cut it off." continues the monster radiating bloodlust.

***ping***

_This is really going to suck_

* * *

><p>A handsome boy with messy blond hair and sea-blue eyes looks at me.<p>

Despite being younger than me I can feel that he has a few muscles already through the adorable little pajamas that

he's wearing.

It didn't start this way... no rather when I first appeared he got angry…

Really angry…

Why was he so scary?

But he made up with me and he-

"Kyah!" a sound unintentionally leaks from my traitorous mouth.

_I can't even think about what he did right now._

_No no no no no! I can't think of him like that! I'm just here as a guide so he wouldn't want me anyway._

Then I suddenly remember what else he said in a rush.

* * *

><p><em>'it's not like you could choose what physical features you would be born with.'<em>

_'you could choose what physical features you would be born with.'_

_'__**you choose**_ _what __**physical features**_ _you would be __**born with**__.'_

_**'you choose physical features to be born with.'**_

* * *

><p><em>I just wanted to be have bigger breasts. <em>

_As Mari I had no development at all. _

_As Eiry I was just a tiny little fairy so what little development I had was obscured by how I was like 20 centimeters tall._

_So while I was being reborn... I just decided to make them bigger, _

_and since Ranald was so cool I wanted to be able to use weapons like that..._

_I didn't think that those two desires would split me into two parts!_

_Or that the separate experiences of both Nao and as Eiry would combine me into the form that was more liked. _

_Nao had gotten so used to her size that she didn't even notice how large she was! _

_It's just not fair…_

_I helped so many people as Eiry but... they all…_

_Then when I finally meet someone nice that doesn't just like my chest-or rather he even seems to dislike it! _

_I went and gave him such a horrible first __impression of me._

_Still I wonder where he is?_

_Since I'm still in this area... he should be here right?_

"Uh... Hello? " I question. "Are you alright Master Arc?" I continue.

*bang* And then I hear a loud sound in the distance.

"Maybe I should go that way?" I pondered seriously.

And so I cheerfully took a stroll towards all the loud noises.

…

..

.

* * *

><p><em>What I find 5 minutes later is amazing.<em>

_That boy from before is fighting._

_Despite the fact that he hasn't gone over active combat skills yet-I should know since I'm the one who has to tell him_

_about those skills before turning him over to Dango... with him being unable to have a single attack skill... _

_At and most __he should only have masteries!_

_Yet he is fighting Dango._

_Someone who by the very nature of how the tutorial makes us 10 and 15 levels higher than him, someone who should be _

_complet-far weaker than me; and as for Dango? _

_She should be able to crush him in a single blow. _

_In fact, he is bleeding and wounded, so he obviously took blows too far above his level and so took real damage_

_ beyond what even his current Gamer's Body could handle._

_Especially since the tutorial can only be activated within two days of activating The Gamer power. _

_So he shouldn't have __had the time to gain many skill level ups or increase his stats much if at all._

_Yet he's able to fight a fully equip-_

_No... wait?_

"Umm... I am sorry to interrupt your spar but," I start out slowly.

"Dango, why you are naked?" I finish off in slight confusion.

…

..

.

"Still haven't gotten to that portion of the tutorial and all that." Shrugs Dango.

"Anyway, I'll be with you after I kill the perverted little imp." says Dango sounding completely serious.

"N-no! Tha-It was just a misunderstanding." I try to placate Dango

_He's only a kid anyway. He probably was just being nice when he said that either way._

"He was trying to do stuff with you!" Shouts Dango while pointing an accusing finger at the boy.

"Stuff?" I tilt my head at her.

"Stuff is stuff is stuff!" She explains at me again.

"Um... If it's alright with you, then I would be more than happy to explain while Ms. Hachimitsu is unable to." a calm

and polite voice steps in.

"Ah... that would be find Mas-Mr. Arc." I smiled at politely at him.

_Bad Now; we haven't gone over weapons yet so I've yet to make a contract to be able to call myself his weapon so I _

_shouldn't call him Master Arc yet._

"Hmm? You don't need to call me Mr. Arc. Please just call me Jaune." reassures M-Jaune with a sunny smile.

...

..

.

"You remember my story about how I am the proud heir of a family extraordinary Heroes correct?" Starts Jaune

"I do..?" I say. _I just didn't like thinking about it; he made that embarrassing oath to me while reveal-saying that._

"Yes well what happened here was simple." He started out.

"When I first arrived here I noticed this place looked similar to a battle arena. So after you fainted... I just wondered

what type of arena foe I would classify you under." He explained.

"Since you are so cute, I decided it must have been a small animal." He-_ahh.. but that?_

"I then thought that it may have been inappropriate, you were 10 levels higher than I am after all." He continued

saying it so naturally.

_10 levels means nothing to him..._

"So then I saw a silly image in my head the future me as a Hero. Having vanquished some terrifying beast."

_even after fighting her he is still…_

"And having ended up fighting past the point where all my armor broke. Something which is quite normal in my family.

And so I took off my armor to get the feel of things and... well Ms. Hachimitsu thought I was going to molest you... And so she naturally... THIS."

He explains as if it's completely normal for this to have happened while shrugging his shoulders.

"Ah.. still I am sorry to have caused more trouble for you." _Regardless of how little effect it had on him.. to have to _

_fight Dango is a bit…_

"It's not a problem at all. I gained a lot of levels today so I should actually be thanking you." He notes while smiling

at me in that almost Holy fashion he did previously…

_He really reminds me of **THAT** man when he does that._

"Levels?" I question.

"Ah, well because you fainted or rather since I made you faint... it somehow counted as combat so..." He starts to

explain looking a bit sheepish.

"So you gained levels from defeating me in combat then?" I ask rather calmly if I do say myself.

_I'm so pathetic... I fainted for no reason and did so badly that I gave him experience._

"Yes. That is the case." He nods his head at me in agreement.

…

_..Oh no we're falling into a bad silence... Maybe I should compliment his fight?_

"But even so it is truly amazing that you were able to match Dango on the field of battle. She should still be over 10

levels higher than you regardless of the experience you got against me right?" I try to explain to him how big a feat

what he did was.

"Ah.. I think it was 13 levels; I was level 4 afterword's you see." He says naturally.

"Also I believe that because I 'took down' such a higher ranked foe, I ended up gaining a title that gives me increased

attack and defense against female opponents by 5%, as well as +5 to all stats when fighting against women. So

that's like 6 extra levels of bonus stats, combined with an extra 1 from the 5%? So it really was only 2

levels difference." He says it swiftly and calmly like it really is just that simple.

"B-but... you should not have any high level masteries yet. Or any active combat skills. Or anything really!" I once

more try to bring us back to how amazing it is for him to have done that.

"Hmm... was it something like 'Basic Arc Martial Art Technique: The Shield?" Jaune suddenly interjects.

"Huh? I suppose so?" I say while slightly taken back.

"Ah.. then I think I may know what happened." he starts.

**'Mastery of the skill Basic Arc Martial Art Technique: The Shield upgrades based on previous experience in**

** the ability.'** he continues.

_Wait..._

"Was one of the messages that I received, same with Intimidate and Killing Intent-two very important abilities to

keep my sisters from running wild completely, even the ones who are completely beyond me in battle sense," he says

while shrugging

_That's…._

"And learning martial arts was a good way to protect my sisters in the present, and helped build a foundation so I

would be able to help them out in the future." While saying something that should be impossible.

"Umm... I do not know how to say this but... youshouldn'tbeinheritinganyskillever!" I get it out as fast as I can to try

to avoid sounding like I doubt him.

…

..

.

"Well. I did." He says as if this complete defiance of how **The Gamer** works is normal for him.

"That's impossible." Dango who had been quiet so far started,

"That is completely impossible. The tutorial only works for a **Gamer** who has had the skill for less than two days. The

only way for you to have gotten a skill up is for you to have read a skill book and have trained it from level 1 in this

time." Decisively Dango in a cold and angry voice.

"Not for me it isn't." Jaune says to Dango seriously.

"I'm the only heir of an over 3 millennium year old family that has produced countless Heroes, from the start of the

family all the way to it's end." Jaune who somehow calmly proclaims something else strange as fact.

"And let me let you in on a little secret, something that I and many other Arc's have come to the conclusion of." He

says as he slowly starts walking up to Dango.

"The Arc family will live forever." He calmly states.

"I rather be first in a village than second in the city. Glory is it's own reward. To learn a second language is to

gain a second soul." He speaks as if in a trance.

"To name just a few of the quotes that my family has once said." He smiles in a slightly sheepish manner.

"But my favorite is my namesakes words." he says with brightening eyes.

"Whether in forest dark or bright lit field, I stand by my families oath to fight, even with my dying breath I deny all

those who worship evil's might, I will not falter from the light!" He says as his eyes begin to glow.

"Who are you to say what I can and cannot do? I've been on the losing side of a conflict far more times than you

have on the winning side. Challenge me again and I'll show you how an Arc fights and dies." And then his Aura glows

bright white, and suddenly all of his wounds start to heal.

"I'll see you two later." Jaune says calmly as he turns his back to Dango as his wounds continue to heal.

"Right now I don't think I should be here." Just as his wounds finish healing…

"So I'll be back in a week once we all had a chance to cool off." And with that he just disappears

_It seems he figured out he had to unclick the tutorial button to get out of here.._

_Soon we'll disappear from this place as well._

_But before that I have to convince Dango to at least give him credit for learning all the essentials of combat_

_._

_I don't want them to fight when they see each other again._

"Dango I-"

* * *

><p><em>I had on my Onesie, something my mother insisted I had for warmth.<em>

_It was made from cotton canvas, the toughest non-dust reinforced fabric known to man; it is _

_waterproof, friction resistant, and slightly repels all weak attacks with it's amazing anti-snag power! In addition to _

_that, it was reinforced through Aura use by my father, making it good enough to repel minor bullets... _

_As a special option it even has some flame resistance!_

_It probably would be good enough equipment to actually hunt in; probably the point my father was trying to make._

_'Always be ready, don't even take a bath if you're uncertain, a real man can do anything he puts his mind to Jaune; _

_remember that.' or some other bull that didn't save the rest of our family._

_It's even in our legendary history-_

_'sixty seven times great grandson' __means that it's only been around 70 generations total since my family has been _

_around. Even taking 3000 rather than over 3000... 3000 divided by 70 is... ummm 4 times 7 is 28.. but 5 times 7 is _

_already 35 so somewhere a bit over 40!_

_Sound like a lot? _

_three fourths of my __direct ancestors weren't high class Heroes, and at many points the family was_

_in hiding in complete safety! More like the majority of the fighters of the family died in their teens to early 20's_

_By that measure I'm already half dead!_

_And if I live to 60, I'll have beaten like 90% of the family throughout history._

_Still even with that absurd equipment..._

_Even though she was naked..._

_That was close._

_That was really close._

_That was you-only-had-4-HP-left close._

_I bet even fighting someone 5 levels higher than me will be frightening for a while..._

_Still I know what to do…_

"Grind. Grind and grind some more huh?" I smile briefly before grimacing as I remember something unpleasant.

_In order to survive that fight... I had to spend all 10 of my points wisely._

_The Shield martial arts sub-style __**exponentially**_ _toughens one up. _

_It is a style meant to allow someone gain and then enhance __**incredible**_ _endurance; _

_enough to take on __**entire armies**_ _of weaker __foes._

_A master of the style will gain the __**invincible **__body of __**Heracles**__, _

_the only man who ever fought the __**God of all Grimm**_ _in one on one combat and __**survived.**_

…

_.._

_._

_**Legends **__at their finest huh? _

_If he was so strong... the master of not just all of the Arc styles; _

_but rather the originator of the style that all of the Arc styles were supposed to have been created as weakened remnants of…_

_Well I suppose it's the same like the world being a mere remnant as itself…_

_The original style was probably really great, but converted into video game terms it would probably need like 500 base points in every single statistic to _

_use or __something equally stupid._

_.._

_._

_Still I'm getting off track: Had I been able to put all 10 of my points into VIT alone, I would have been able to grind my other skills normally…_

_But I wasn't for one reason and one reason alone._

_Without a substantial boost to my strength…._

_I just plain wouldn't have been able to do **any** damage even to her naked body._

_Her base defense was nearly as high as my defense with proper equipment would be._

_So I put in 4 points into STR, 2 into DEX, and 4 into VIT…_

_And even then... only careful observation saved me._

_Her hands twitched as if she wanted to reach towards equipment that she didn't have, _

_and she made seals as if she were going to summon something; _

_so it was pretty obvious that she fought using Dust and weaponry rather than Aura and martial arts._

_Her martial arts technique was quick and seemed to be based on entrapment.. But she appeared to only be so-so in it. _

_She probably relied on her special skills to actually fight. _

_Or to put in another way..._

_Had I gotten to the point in the tutorial where she would have been my combat teacher as her title says... I would _

_have died in a single blow regardless of what I did to prepare beforehand. So had I actually killed that girl, and _

_presumably gotten the pass to go to the next teacher... I would have died; Impossible Second Fight Bad End most likely._

_Still it's fine._

_I know her type. Since she's an assassin, as long as she doesn't KNOW she can beat me... _

_I should be alright, especially __since she seems a bit on the stupid side._

_The truly dangerous one is Now._

_She has Dango wrapped up around her finger and controls her so casually. _

_She kept trying to steer the conversation towards my combat skills. _

_I actually revealed quite a bit about the reasons I _

_was able to barely stay alive against Dango because she seemed so nice. _

_.._

_._

_She is obviously a master manipulator._

_And she kept trying to call me a Masochist too!_

_But I'm on to your game now._

_._

_I will re-fight Dango in her naked form in a week. _

_I'll bring her to the brink of death, something __I know_ _I could do regardless of the skills interference in my life. _

_Then if she still tries to attack me..._

_We will see._

_.._

_._

_I will then retake the tutorial with Now._

_And will keep watch on her intently._

_I'll learn all of her skills..._

_And even though she'll still be 10 levels higher than me..._

_I'll be able to take her on directly even if she has equipment on her._

_..._

_.._

_._

_And as long as I keep a close eye on her during the tutorial…_

_I'll never need to see them again..._

..

.

_Even though... fighting the two of them was kind of fu-_

"Fruit! I should go eat some fruit!" I shout forcefully as I stand up.

And just as I took a bite from the apple from the basket on the dining room table…

***ping***

"Geh.." _And so I start to choke._

***ping***

"Khargh.." _It's stuck._

***ping***

"Gah..." _Running out of air _

***ping***

***ping***

"..." _And as I fade I can practically hear it..._

...

..

.

"He he... I'm helping~"

* * *

><p><strong>The pings that sent Jaune into a sleep<strong>

**XXX**

* * *

><p><strong>Quest Alert<strong>

**Tutorial: Beginner Combat!**

**The Gamer must learn the basics of combat. Time limit: 24 hours.**

**Completion Award: 5000 EXP, Increased closeness with Dango, Unlocking of all Basic Combat Skills,**

** Unlocking of all Beginner equipment, and a special item dependent on how you passed the test!**

**Completion Failure: 500 EXP, Decreased closeness with Dango.**

* * *

><p><strong>Quest Complete: Completion Award: 5000 EXP, Increased closeness with Dango, Unlocked all Basic <strong>

**Combat Skills, Unlocked all Beginner equipment, and received special item: Super Special Medicine.**

* * *

><p><strong>Your level went up by 1.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Your level went up by 1.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Your level went up by 1.<strong>**

* * *

><p><strong>Plus the item that he gained <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Super Special Medicine<strong>

**Secret Medicine is made in a humanoid world where fertility is almost zero. Made to allow children to be had. Super Secret Medicine is an **

**illegal medicine along the same line.**

**Regardless of the user's actual physical state, boosted with this medicine pregnancy is guaranteed.**

**Increases Libido by 300% for the next 24 hours after use.**

**Increases Sexual Stamina by 300% for the next 24 hours after use.**

**Guarantees Pregnancy regardless of actual physical state.**

* * *

><p>Guess who was lucky enough to not make his first enemy,<p>

but in exchange has no free grinding of the tutorial grounds,

as well as got a useless special item that won't help him in combat.

And who still doesn't know that he is NOT a RPG Protagonist, but rather has power over **all** games.

Who doesn't know why it is impossible for him to have inherited skills.

Who still has to find out that the beginner's training weapon that he misled into thinking he actually wants to be a Hero,

...is going to be with him until he stops being a beginner.

And since he put her in a low Level of 'Crush' she can optionally stay around (or be sad enough if you decline that her

all of her friends try to kill you).

And who is still banned from the Library for yelling out in the first chapter while studying...

And since he's keeping The Gamer a secret from his family... he'll have to find alternate means to get stronger now.

Plus while his Aura will keep him from actually dying now that he's unconscious,

He won't get a good nights sleep and so not know about the whole 'sleeping restore' effect.

All while having that -20% Rep. Gain from men, also having hidden effects on the starting Rep. of men.

Which is even more funny than the increase to bases effect on women, of which he has many very close to him to be

affected by.

Please tell me if something else is unclear.

While I'll have less time to write during mid-term week, I can at least read all of your concerns and try to explain more if necessary.


	5. The Hero Prepares to Hunt, Part 1

**I do not own RWBY or The Gamer as both are property of their respective owners **

**Roosterteeth** and **Sung San-Young.**

I do not own **Naruto **or **Mabinogi **either; you know the drill.

* * *

><p><strong>shugokage:<strong> Actually, as I tried to hint at with both his inactive skill, and with Jaune managing to **successfully **research his family's history enough to be disillusioned about it in **TAH**, combined with Canon Jaune faking to get accepted into Beacon despite not being particularly good at lying...

Canon Jaune actually **is** lucky, (as a holder of the skill only those born with extraordinary luck have. Said skill helped his LUK grow overtime.-according to this stories logic) It was great enough that he passed Beacon's pre-screening process undetected; which allowed Ozpin to decide to let him through.

Ruby was let in actively, and so he had her hit the Nevermore's child by timing it.

You hear bird noises at "Do not hesi***noise***tate to destroy everything in your path. ...Or you will die. *Pause to allow reactions* You will be monitored and graded-a lot more talking ending with "Are there any questions?" *Pause long enough to allow Jaune to say "Yeah, um. Sir?"* Then it takes around 10 seconds for the panels to start working. Long enough for one of Jaunes pauses for politeness to stop, and him to attempt to ask again a bit less politely.

Then notice how the background launching sounds are pretty much regular in timing: roughly every 1.5 to 2 seconds, more often at the start and less often at the end... then second-to-last Ruby is launched in a second; when any good motion detecting bird would have sensed enough to get out of the way of the other candidates...then Jaune is launched after around 2.5 seconds into mostly safe space.

It's basic strategy to hit a bird with objects!

So Ozpin justified his choices.

Since it was by HIS open judgment that Ruby was placed in, he had to give her a test so that he could point it to any naysayers as how well she handled things.

Similarly he also, despite it being more hidden, allowed Jaune in.

So he gave Jaune; someone he knew lacked qualifications, a chance to calm himself down enough to show his true best by sending him somewhere reasonably safe.

Seeing that the forests are already empty enough that Ruby could run around a decently far distance without finding any Grimm...

It was pretty light as far as Grimm go. Also it lacked truly old Grimm. Only perhaps the giant scorpion, was potentially old. And the scorpion was still a bit weaker than the Nevermore. It's pretty similar to Digimon. Multiple evolution paths, not all being at the same level, and so forth.

Anyway, The Gamer was a trade rather than a gift.

What he lost: The skill that would have given him immense LUK to inactivity, and his general defensive Semblance was devoured completely as well.

Of course, some of it still remains in his Aura… it's just not enough to form a true Semblance anymore.

And no more luck in learning how to dance for parties from multiple somewheres with his sisters and yet **not** accidentally getting involved with at least one truly dangerous group. Rather than just getting involved with people who could provide him 'official looking material' that he was able to use with his own ability to get into Beacon…. Jaune now has a larger possibility of meeting less… ideal acquaintances.

Of course all of this is just my headcanon of how and why Jaune got into Beacon.

The same for Semblances. The semi-hereditary nature means that someone in Jaune's family; perhaps even his great-great grandfather had an extremely powerful Defensive Aura Semblance that was faced at least in part to Jaune. A Semblance that came about as a result of only fighting with sword-shield combos. Unlike the Greeks who used spears, the Romans used javelins before charging into close range. So that type of Semblance was earned through repeated survival in that type of battle field...

I foresee **Generation Xerox **for a pep talk when Jaune once more feels less than confident in Season 3 or possibly 4.

Jaune possibly comes from a line of **Destined Heroes** anyway, with that immense Aura of his coming about as the result. It's a trope I could see RWBY poke at for fun at least…

That would also be a good way to make Jaune less confident-which is something else that I thought a bit on when creating this fic. If it's something you're already destined to do… is it really your accomplishment- Is basically what a thinker type like Jaune would wonder about.

In **TAH** I added in 'a recent relative that gained a power similar in type to **The Gamer**.'

Specifically something like a Lantern Oath.

**The Rebuilder** had the Semblance **The Image**, which allowed temporary creation of anything that Jaune's namesake could imagine. I also note here that he was supposed to be Jaune's great-great grandfather who inherited from his grandmother… so both his entry and Julia d'Arc are misplaced by 1 generation in Chapter 2.

This is important to allow an explanation of how the Arc family was at least partially forgotten. The family went into hiding after the failure of Jeanne d'Arc who was a mix of the historical Jeanne + the Shaman King Iron Maiden + the Fate/Apocrypha version through Ruler. So they had a child thing happened after a Shaman King type romance with someone from the Vacuo portion of the planet; where I put China and Japan's equivalent… Through the person was a Jian who was partially descended from the last heir to an ancient martial arts, the Arc family didn't really pay much attention to the art since it was too difficult to learn. (Or rather, the Arc family already had simpler martial arts for each major type of fighting and so didn't see most of the point of doing it).

Speaking of martial arts based on the four symbols...

I actually think that Ryuugi's style based on the White Tiger starting off so expensive and getting cheaper is a bit odd. I expected it to work more like other video games where the cost gets higher with improvements, but gets stronger in exchange. So it would always be, and always stay a style for short battles; regardless of how skilled you were in it. I do agree with the whole 'make it like a bunch of passive skills, not very flashy but extremely powerful in a short timeframe', that he has going on though.

I also do see the analogy. In canon Jaune has always been good at doing various little things due to his energy and effort… but had difficulty with larger scale actions. But as the series has gone on… he's been improving in both the intensity in which he acts and the duration in which he acts; so that skill is a good way of showing the same sort of realistic growth that canon!Jaune went through.

Ironically; I was so busy finishing off the last chapter that I didn't get to read the forum that day… and he actually talked about Jaune's mindset so I probably would have included how we were in agreement about how Jaune gets pulled by other people around him, and noted that it was because he is smart and lacks a unique sense of identity because of never having a need for one.

For this story, I had his curiosity nudged slightly; so rather than just waiting around while doing other things while doing reasonably well and seeing no reason to change…. he actually was a bit active; but only due to a slight curiosity. It's also why he was not easily caught by his relatives. Jaune just didn't register on their radars as doing anything dangerous because he until recently wasn't pursuing it completely.

But in writing a fiction… it's far more difficult to portray. It's why I have the story moving from a narrator who is reasonably accurate but uninvolved, to the various people as **unreliable narrators** to try to show the difference in thought processes and their effects on the world. Now being based off of two airheaded characters is similar and dissimilar to Jaune. Rather due to Mabinogi being even away at by gold farmers… her role was taken away without much hope for the future; unlike Jaune whose circumstances actually give him more hope for the future, even though they at the same time also provide even larger risks.

I do have the feeling that the view changes make this story more confusing though… which is why I'm trying to do them less often.

* * *

><p>Version 1: He actually did start training with only a short tense conversation with his father. It was supposed to lead to him training all week, finally feeling that he had a good chance… and then cute tsundere moe Nero protesting his practicing swordsmanship as being too similar to grandpa's scary self and stealing the family blade. Which would have gotten him to fight and lose the fight by doing so without the sword. But I felt that doing it that way made it too similar to <strong>The Games We Play<strong>. So I decided to let Jaune think things in a slightly different way to get a vastly different result.

* * *

><p><strong>Jaune Arc: The Accidental Hero<strong>

**The Hero Prepares to Hunt,**

**Part 1**

**XXX**

* * *

><p>An empty room of enclosed whiteness.<p>

A complete silence void of any distraction.

"Hmmm it really does remind me of that place…" I note "Is it a coincidence or….?" I idly ponder as I prepare myself.

**XXX**

_Earlier, after I had a long and educated discussion with the wall on the many evils that plague the world,_

_Frightening woman that Now is….._

_I decided to plan out what I would do and so went to our families empty training room._

_I was lucky it was a Sunday._

_In a household of ten, or 9.5 as I joked to my younger sisters, stillness was a luxury. Even during the calmest day, __someone_ _was always doing something._

_Weekdays were the worst._

_Nero and her dramatic proclamations about her bad art,_

_Arthuria too serious by far with her desire to become a perfect knight._

_Lily; playful little imp pranking everything that moves._

_Even Sieglinde the least active of my siblings, was always busy modifying her Single-Eyed-Gauntlet-Shield (SEGS); though why she named it Fafnir made no sense to me._

_'It switches from being a large gauntlet which is like a large Dragon, to an even bigger shield. Which is like how Dragon's tend to show their greatest power late in a fight while on the defensive. That's why it's a shield.'_

_But... The biggest and most important part about a Dragon is not it's size, nor it's power, but rather it's __endurance._

_Ordinary Hunters would have to fight a Dragon for days to tire it out._

_With only a civilian militia and army… it would last for weeks at minimum._

_The Atlesian military with it's robot Legions may claim to be the world's greatest military power..._

_And in total, the amount of power they had may even be the 'greatest'. But even an hundred thousand strong army of those little toys, would fail against a single Dragon. Until they start developing Aura-bots like those silly fanfics that technies fawn over; hey are of no concern to any of the Greater Grimm._

_Still my family is seriously weird..._

_Having two melee ranged weapons like Sieglinde's Fafnir is a textbook example of my families brand of strange. Having a giant lance; something whose range with Aura is almost acceptably mid-range, become twin spears as it's alternate form is another example of our families so-called 'ingenuity'. And don't even get me started on the idiot who made their full body reinforced plate ARMOR; i.e. the most important piece of __defensive_ _gear that they wore, combine with their already large-as-a-full-grown-man hammer, to create a 'super hammer that could explode beyond the Heavens!'..._

_Yeah..._

_My family is weird._

_Besides._

_She probably just stole the name from our father's nickname._

_..._

_Anyway..._

_Saturday is the only day of the week where our father is alw-most times home. _

_The only time our father ever missed coming home, he did so to stop a frenzy of Sharptooths intent on devouring a recently flooded town._

_Poor giant Shark Grimm; turned into grilled tuna..._

_In fact, _

_he actually managed to bring back a tooth; it took __two_ _whole months for it to dissolve!_

_.._

_._

_That was dangerous._

_I almost fell into my old habit of admiring my father._

_.._

_...Anyway..._

_While home, my father tires out my sisters, giving me plenty of time to do other things._

_And on Sunday morning, the rest of my family sleeps in._

_So when I woke up a few hours later, with my HP bar full and no apple stuck in my throat; probably my Aura dissolved it with it's auto-protection ability._

_No one was around to question me._

_And so I still have time to think._

_.._

_._

_...And of course, later I would prepare breakfast as an excuse of why I was up so early._

_I need to get stronger…_

_And after having taken all necessary actions after just waking up, I only have around six and a half days to do so._

_It was completely and absolutely necessary!_

_But enough about that..._

_The facts are:_

_1) I have to fight someone who will always be 15 Levels higher than when I enter the tutorial area._

_2) She doesn't like me._

_3) She almost beat me even without skills or equipment; that she now has._

_4) She is friends with Now._

_To overcome her I need to:_

_1) Get stronger faster than my Level increases._

_2) Do so without making her completely despise me._

_3) Increase my skills and/or equipment enough to overcome her own._

_4) ? _

_To do so:_

_1)I should focus on just a few skills to have them outpace my Level enough to match her._

_2) Win in a straight up fight to not inspire more resentment. (?)_

_3) Borrow better equipment than what I had earlier._

_4) ?_

_Anyway… I can't inherit what I never actually learned so I can't just make new equipment._

_And my options for my skills ar-_

_..._

_.._

_No I should be asking where am I at currently._

"Status"

* * *

><p><strong>Name: Jaune Arc<strong>

**Class: The Gamer**

**Age: 9**

**Level: 7**

**Next Level: 185.65%**

**HP: 250**

**MP: 150**

**STR: 8**

**VIT: 7**

**DEX: 6**

**INT: 6**

**WIS: 6**

**LUK: 55**

**Points: 15**

**Lien: 500**

**Due to 'Small Child' De-buff combined with an active 'Tutorial', you cannot increase your**

**level beyond it's current state. **_

* * *

><p>...<p>

..

.

"Yeah..." as my mind unfreezes.

..

.

_Now I can't force our levels to be closer in relative terms by rapidly grinding a massive number of levels as a strategy… since it's common in this sort of situation for their equipment to have been limited due to being only a tutorial and all..._

_I also am now limited to these points and the points I can train before the duel as well…_

_This is..._

_..._

_..No..._

_Wait..._

_If this __is_ _the case…_

_I should be able to…_

_Go kill things, __without_ _gaining Levels._

_Gain skills at the high speed of combat, and NOT make her any stronger._

_I also now know what level she will be as well; meaning I can plan for that as well._

_Even if she may have Level 22 rare equipment..._

_She does not have my family's history._

_Crocea Mors is most likely Legendary class equipment or something similar. _

_And Dad hinted that I would soon be old enough to practice with Crocea Mors soon._

_Though he'll want to supervise me if I'm not strong enough..._

_So if show him that my strength is high enough... _

_I can borrow it!_

_But..._

_While even at Level 7, I should be able to wield it; due to it being attuned to our bloodline…_

_And even if I say my Semblance so far has made me physically stronger; something that strictly speaking would be correct to account for my increase in ability._

_I have another problem here._

_My father will be gone later today. _

_So while I can probably get a good feel of the exact feeling of wielding that sword and shield set given half a week of training... I need to convince him today._

_That means I need enough strength to convince him today. _

_I need to use up all of my points again..._

_With 7 more points into STR to get it 15, 5 in DEX to get it to 11, and 3 in VIT to get it to 10..._

_If my thoughts were correct… I should be around as strong as an athletic high school student,_

_with stamina and speed to match, which should be enough to convince him..._

_But... then the speed at which I gain other stats…_

…

_.._

_It probably won't be enough to fully make up for it…_

_.._

_No helping that for now though._

_.._

_._

_As for the difference in our skill levels; I have to fix it by focusing only on a few useful skills. To compensate for the random nature of NPC characters._

_..._

_.._

_._

_It's too bad I have no idea where I would find a skill book._

_Maybe a rare scroll of ancient families techniques would coun-_

_STOP!_

_I will assume I only have skills I already have, or basic skills that I can create._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Lying<strong>_

_**Intimidate**_

_**Killing Intent**_

_**Detect Blood Thirst**_

_**Observe**_

_**Physical Endurance**_

_**Basic Arc Martial Art Technique: The Shield**_

_Along with the base skills __**A Gamer's Mind/Body**__,_

_as well as my inactive skill __**A Random Walk.**_

* * *

><p><em>XXX<em>

* * *

><p><em>So far I have 3 plans.<em>

_The weakest plan was my first plan._

_Plan 1: Use LUK to cheat with __**ARW**_

_If I could reliably increase my LUK and reactive __**ARW**__..._

_I would probably be able to exploit it. But even if I could reactivate it; something that I don't know how to do, I wouldn't know how to use it._

_So it is currently useless to me._

_Chance of success: Unknown_

_Action: Discarded_

* * *

><p><em>The next plan has some promise.<em>

_Plan 2: Become a turtle with __**The Shield**__._

_While I spent some time remembering my training lessons_

_Where I would start learning how to use the sword..._

_How I would feel I was just about to understand it..._

_And then be interrupted by my younger sisters_

_and have to stop..._

_...for JUSTICE!_

_By tickling them mercilessly_

_And noticed that because of that, I never actually gained much skill in_

_the sword version of __**The Shield**_

_I decided that it would still be workable._

_With __**The Shield**__, I would b-be using something of a turtles style. _

_Nothing wrong with that though..._

_Just because I hate that style in video games; well this isn't a video game so..._

_..._

_.._

_As a game character, I can continue fighting just fine even as my stamina depletes; meaning as long as I don't run out of stamina, or am in a battle completely out of my league, longer duels actually are advantuous for me. If my sword is better than her weapons;which are probably something small like daggers, then I can do more damage per hit than her, while only taking ping damage behind an iron wall of super defense._

_The level difference is high enough that I won't be able to outlast her..._

_But I can get the equivalent of a Raid shield and sword combo, combined with Ordinary gear versus someone in full Uncommon or Rare gear. _

_If I think of it like that it only is a matter of observation..._

_As long as I can use __**Detect Blood Thirst**_ _and __**Observe**_ _effectively, I should be able to block at least her most damaging special moves, and mitigate her damage as an assassin, even though in a long fight I most likely won't be able to read her moves well enough to take care of her more ordinary attacks. _

_So in this strategy VIT is essential. _

_Most of my stat training during the week will would be for VIT._

_Chance of success: Very Low_

_Action: Hold_

* * *

><p><em>And plan 3 is the most promising but most convoluted of them all.<em>

_Plan 3: Fake it with lies, intimidation, and killing intent:_

_**Lying**__: now __**Level 3, **__gained increased lie effectiveness to 7% and accompanying 3.5% and 1.4% for reputation loss and acceptance rate, meaning it'll likely continue to increases by one-fifth of its starting stats per level. With the simplicity of this situation, the decrease in reputation loss is not worth much. But, the increases to lie effectiveness as well as lie acceptance rate should feed on each other, making even small doubts a foundation for something larger._

_**Intimidate**__: Still __**Level 27**__, what with being too busy staying alive to taunt her. But If I can reduce her confidence by enough, I will probably be able to scare her away, something which will at least give her large debuffs while fighting me. Taking the foundation and paving a road._

_**Killing Intent**__: Still __**Level 17**__, as I was too busy enduring her own 'Killing Intent' or something similar to actually send any back. But, it actually reduces the stamina of anyone under it's effect. Meaning I can force a fight to become shorter than it should be. Which partially makes up for her presumably high stamina. Taking a road and putting down a toll booth?..._

_Yeah… bad analogies are bad._

…_._

_.._

_Anyway.._

_To work on a Hunter class foe... I probably need to use MP, so less Aura useage for other things. _

_If it works the same as Intimidate, it'll probably gain a special at Level 21 as well. But already its effect when combined together with Intimidate is just absurd. Even should a stamina recovery skill be used without the passive effect just re-applying itself... it still takes less than a minute to destroy any foe._

_Still should it's special effects also be affected by the chance increase, or it provide some sort of 'hidden bonus' that would be an additional possible upside._

_Anyway against Dango, should I have enough strength to... let's say __**Intimidate**_ _her in __1 minute__, and fight at __**full throttle **__for __2 minutes,_ _she should lose. _

_Focused usage of __**Detect Blood Thirst**_ _and __**Observe**_ _can keep me going for that long._

_But the natural enemy of this strategy would be a berserker or a healer..._

_.._

_._

_And she __could_ _be a berserker. Which means all of her movements may end up having enough blood thirst that I can only rely on __**Observe**__..._

_But that has tradeoffs. _

_If she loses her skills while going berserk..._

_Another opportunity to win will appear._

_So maybe 70% towards the two-minute win and 30% towards taking advantage of when she goes Berserk to win at an even faster pace?_

_Combining a short distance run with a 100 meter dash type sprint._

_Training my martial arts further... combined with basic 'practice' gauntlets would allow my skill to be higher than hers, though my equipment will probably be worse..._

_I can still increase my STR through training with the rest going mostly to VIT_

_And with this plan I can use up all of my Level up points after I've gain as many as I can through training, so my total stats should be higher._

_Chance of success: Low_

* * *

><p><strong><em>XXX<em>**

* * *

><p><em>But the most important fact; heedless of what plan I use, is that Dango has already saw me bleed. <em>

_So she roughly knows the limits of my Gamer Body, and can probably estimate what new limits I would have with higher VIT... _

_And I can fake being less injured that I actually am._

_Something that will work for both remaining strategies._

_It increases the chance of success for Plan 2 to __**Low**_

_And Plan 3 to __**Below Average**_

…_._

_.._

_._

"Haa…" as I sign at the horrible situation I wonder.

_What else can I do?_

_I should have more choices than this..._

_And should be able to do this more efficiently..._

_..._

_.._

_._

_Anyway.._

_Why don't I have a skill for 'Aura healing' or 'Aura usage'?_

_That's… Ah… wait…_

…

_It couldn't be but…_

…

'_**Unlocking of all Basic Combat Skills'**_ _couldn't mean…_

_..._

I focus my senses into my body… feeling a sense of strength, of speed, of life itself awaken inside me…

***ping***

* * *

><p><strong>A skill has been created through a special action.<strong>

**Through the power of your actions the skill 'Basic Aura Skill' has been created.**

**Basic Aura Skill (Active and Passive) EXP: Lv 1 3.05%**

**The weakest form of a skill that is a lesser manifestation of the Soul. An ability that all beings with a Soul are eventually able to use with enough training. The fundamental art of all Soul based techniques. **

**Has special properties depending on the nature of the Soul it is attached to.**

**If qualifications are met, may choose to upgrade to 'Intermediate Aura Skill' at Level 50.**

**Passively increases all stats by 5%**

**Actively increases all stats by 10% when active**

**Special Effects:**

**Increases passive and active effects by 100%**

**Increases HP based on MP and VIT**

**Current HP gained: 50(15 (150*.1)+ 35 (7*5))**

* * *

><p>…<em>.<em>

"Donk. Donk. Donk" _I had and fulfilled a sudden urge to enlighten myself by communing with the wall. With my forehead. Nothing to see here._

…

_.._

_._

* * *

><p><strong><em>XXX<em>**

* * *

><p>"Alright then"… <em>as I actually lost a few HP from the end of my attempts at Shamanism… I focus on boiling my power in the same way I did during that fight.<em>

"I should make use of it to…" _I feel it suddenly. A feeling of warmth, security, and oddly contrasting; feelings of cold and lost… The same feeling… but weaker somehow?_

***ping***

* * *

><p><strong>A skill has been created through a special action.<strong>

**Through the power of your actions the skill 'Intermediate Soul Demise' has been created.**

**Intermediate Soul Demise EXP: Lv 1 47.03% MP 50**

**An internal Ki technique that materializes power by burning the users Soul.**

**Only usable by those born with large Souls.**

**If qualifications are met, may choose to upgrade to 'Advanced Soul Demise' at Level 50.**

**Restores 200 HP/minute**

**Duration time: 3 minutes**

**With additional Souls effect is enhanced and includes MP restoration.**

* * *

><p>"That name is..." <em>Nevermind. I'll think about it later. <em>

_Plan 1 may work but is still too impractical…_

_Plan 2… suddenly has a greatly higher chance of success due to being VIT intensive…_

_And Plan 3 has only a higher chance of success due to being less affected by VIT…_

_Now they may actually be close to equal as far as odds go… they are probably both at an above average chance of success now. But thats only with what I know about her. You can never be too prepared so I need more skills.._

_I need ranged power._

_I'm not one of those idiots!_

_I'm Jaune Arc_

_Hear me roar!_

Energy focuses towards my finger tip, growing and growing...

_Then..._

"Boop" Shoot it out_-with a... boop?_

***ping***

* * *

><p><strong>You Cannot Learn This Skill<strong>

**Required INT: 30**

**Required VIT: 30**

* * *

><p>"Seriously..?" I wonder out in astonishment. <em>What happened to my energy?<em>

_It was right there and... then it disappeared somehow?_

_And...I just want a simple little finger bullet too..._

_What's so har-_

_Wait..._

_Maybe it takes too much control to do it with one finger!_

Energy gathers once more, this time flowing throughout an entire boldly extended palm.

***ping***

Then it spirals out of control and explodes like fireworks.

"..." I somehow speak silence.

"Yeah..." _I guess skills can be created without you finishing the action?_

_.._

_._

* * *

><p><strong>A skill has been created through a special action.<strong>

**Through the power of your actions the skill 'Energy Bolt' has been created.**

**Energy Bolt (Active) EXP: Lv 1 0.0%**

**A skill that attacks by emitting mana.**

**Attack power increases by INT.**

**Range: 10 m.**

* * *

><p><em>Not a bad skill I guess? Probably have too low INT for it to matter right now though...<em>

_Hmm not Ki huh? And why doesn't it say how much MP it costs currently anyway?_

_Still... it's better than __**Physical Endurance...**_

* * *

><p><strong>Physical Endurance (Passive) Lv 5 16.58%<strong>

**The body's durability increases and you take less damage.**

**4% decrease in damage from physical attacks.**

* * *

><p><em>At 3% it looked pretty helpful.<em>

_A decrease-all defense that may eventually be able to do something like 'Block Planet' when combined with high Level equipment bonuses._

_But unlike other skills gaining a fifth to a tenth each level._

_This skill only grants twelfth of it's starting value every level._

_At .25 per Level times a 100 it would be 25% minus a .25 to get 24.75 add the original 3.._

_And you end up with 27.75% physical damage reduction total._

_Which is pretty good for the endgame but..._

_Getting to Level 100 can't be easy._

_Especially since it's not called 'Basic', 'Intermediate', or 'Advanced'-it must be harder to gain experience in for it to be a full skill by itself._

_And even worse..._

_You'd have to be a maso-_

_**NOW!**_ _She must have seen it!_

_To be able to compute how many Levels of __**Physical Endurance **__I'd gaining from tanking Dango's attacks..._

_So dangerous..._

_..._

_.._

_._

_I can't believe I mistook her as a greeter character._

_It must be why she's so strong._

_Her original Level must be the max of 99,_

_Or even the special Level 100 that only bosses can have!_

_..._

_.._

_._

"I wasn't drooling. No... it was the water from earlier!" I suddenly shout out of nowhere.

"I see." A voice similarly interjects from nowhere.

"Epp!" I grunted _in a obviously manly manner._

Then suddenly I saw him.

A man of around 50.

With short slightly curly light blonde hair and sky blue eyes.

Whose visible muscles strained through his white undershirt...

The undershirt that is normally hidden under armor so grey it almost seems black,

Which despite it's color, somehow slightly shines...

even in the darkest night...

_My greatest wish..._

_My closest inspiration..._

_The source of my desire to become a Hero..._

_My Father..._

...

..

**(The Dragon of Vytal)**

**Lv ? Arthur Arc**

...

.._so even with this power_

_...I can't..._

_...__that_ _is __**my**_

_**FATHER**_

"Ho ho ho! You seem to be in a good mood son." My dad starts with a grin. "You've been studying hard I think?" he continues with a proud gleam in his eyes. "Someday. Someday soo-"

"I'll become an even stronger Hunter than you?" I finish off for him.

"Heh. You really understand me." Laughs my father.

"I love you son." he ends simply.

_Those words..._

_So very simple..._

_Just 4 short words..._

_Yet..._

"I'm not crying!" I calmly state in the calmest matter that was obviously definitely possible!

"What's wrong. Jaune." suddenly serious, my father nearly demands.

_...I_

_..Should_

_.NOO!_

"I've just been thinking deeply about becoming a Hero lately." I decide to tell a portion of the truth.

"I realized just how dangerous it is." I continue honestly. _I..._

"I was just thinking about how to get stronger to be able to more safely handle things." I continue while still being honest. _really..._

"I was just thinking about asking you to borrow Crocea Mors." I'm still being completely honest. _hate..._

"I want to become strong. Not powerful. Not fast. Not smart. But all of that and more." Honestly _is my middle name!_ _lying..._

"And so I was thinking about all of the ways I could become stronger while I still had time." _to..._

"But... some of the ways to become stronger... They aren't really moral. Aren't really the right thing to do... Yet at the same time..." _him..._

"You want to become stronger." My father states as a fact.

"Yes... I do." I say expecting recrimination.

...

..

.

"Jaune. Unlike the video games you love, the world is not just Black and White." My father starts with. "Heroes fail. Villains win." He naturally states things I'd never expect from him.

"Then WHAT should I DO! What should I BE! HOW can I tell when I'm right or when I'm wrong!" I vent out with all of my anger and frustration at someone who I know doesn't deserve it. _I..._

"Jaune.. You don't have to do anything, nor be anything." My father starts,

"Just be you. The Human Jaune Arc. Just like I'm just the Human Arthur Arc."

...

..

._That's..._

..

_._

_**Humans?**_

_..._

_But.._

_That__.._

"Normal **Humans** can't do the things that you do. Can't juggle bulldozers through sheer strength. Can't move past the speed of sound. Can't-!" I start with heatedly.

Only to be interrupted.

"You just said yourself Jaune. Strength and Power are **not**the same. Strength does not make you a Hero either, nor does it override the fact that you are **Human**." Seriously emphasizes my father.

"I need no **reason** to save people."

"I do it because **I** think it to be right."

"I need no **reason** to abandon people either."

"Abando-!"

"Yes abandon."

"Roughly, 30 years ago in a small town around 70 Kilometers from Vacuo. One that hated foreigners. Whose hatred had attracted a Legion of Elder Grimm." As he elaborates

"One that refused to evacuate out of pride. I stayed to try to convince them. " His tone of voice

"But they **wouldn't listen**." becomes darker.

"And so I left. When I came back I saw nothing... nothing but a endless field of red and black." and darker.

"Despite seeing that hopeless scene, I choose to search. And search. And search." As he emphasizes...

"Two days later I found her." His gaze becomes sharper...

"A girl younger than you are now, a girl who I brought with me to my family, despite her hating me at the time." And sharper.

"I did it because **I** felt it was the right thing to do. I choose to leave the path of a storybook Hero for the first time that day." Until...

"And **I** haven't worn a white armor since." It could even shatter a star.

More normally he continues. with, "After choosing to not become a Hero that day, over the next 30 years, I hunted the largest concentrations of Grimm on the planet. I've ended over 10 million Grimm since then."

"And while I've killed **more** large and powerful Grimm that most of my peers." He says softly but seriously.

"I've never been aiming for them." He highlights with a light glow in his eyes.

"The **greatest** of the Grimm.." Which promptly disappears...

"They got that way through centuries of **experience**. They got that way through gaining and exercising **intelligence**. They got that way through having the **wisdom** to NOT fight Humanity in battles that they couldn't win." He continues calmly except for seeing a hint of something in his eyes at various points...

_that..._

"I did the same thing. I used my **experience** to efficiently kill the **greatest** concentrations of the **weakest** Grimm. I gained more **intelligence** by studying up everything that I could about every type of Grimm that I could find. I used said **intelligence**, combined with my **wisdom** to hunt down more Grimm that were **ALREADY** a danger to Humans, rather than pursue the greatest Grimm because they **MAY** become an extreme threat in the future based on that choice." The hints start becoming more obvious again.

_but..._

"I choose to leave behind the most **dangerous** of the Grimm, the Grimm that only the top 100 Hunters would survive engaging. And more importantly, I choose to leave behind the Grimm who only we among the top 10 would actually **be able to kill**. I left behind the **terrors** who only the **greatest** among Humanity could kill, and may well have **doomed** Humanity the next time **HE** reawakens." Until his eyes start to blaze with a deep red light.

_..._

"So I am not a **Hero**; just an ordinary **Human**." He finishes while clamping down on his Aura.

"Jaune... I'll give you the best advice that I can from my life." My father starts more tiredly. "Even if you do not succeed in getting everything that you want., you only **failed** if you decide that you **failed**. I succeeded in killing more **current** threats to humanity than any Hunter alive. I succeeded in **restraining **my bloods urge to fight greater foes. I **succeeded** in **staying alive** in battles that would have killed anyone else." He continues softly once more.

"**Succeeded** at making you and your sisters smile." He moves on to

"**Succeeded** at watching you all grow..." smile

"And most importantly," gently

"I **succeeded** in making you all happy." at

"And that is good enough for me." me

"Find what makes you happy." with

"Find what you want to do." his

"And find what you want to be." once more sky-blue

**"Then do it."** eyes...

...

..._amazing_

_...maybe if it's him..._

"I... will do that." I start hesitantly "But Dad... I have a question for you.. if that's alright?" I decide to do it.

My Dad inclines his head towards me in acknowledgement, leans back, and crosses his arms over his chest.

"I awakened my Semblance... It can help me become stronger... Stronger in anyway that I want it to. I have a chance... a chance to improve anything. My **body**... my **mind**... and even my **soul**. Within **limits **of course." I start off quickly hoping I'm not making a big mistake.

"But you can choose; make a choice of your own **free will**?" Questions my dad.

"Yes. I really **can** do anything that I want to do." I continue more confidently with a slight smile

...my dad stays silent

..

.

"Anyway... I don't know exactly what **I** want to do... is it worth weakening my power... to improve my **intelligence** and my **wisdom** to try to figure things out?" I finish once I see that my father has nothing to say.

"Jaune. Do you want to win?" My dad suddenly asks.

"Huh? **Win!?**" I say while most definitely not flailing around.

_Nor looking baffled_

_Nor-_

***ping***

_Huh?_

"You are in a **battle**. You know that if you use your Semblance to make better choices, that you'll lose." My father says breaking through my misdirection's naturally. _That..._

"I... you... but... you're right." I find myself agreeing with him.

...my father silently waits allowing me to say what I want to say

"I... I... want to **win** this battle." I venture out slowly and softly.

...my father nods while continuing to wait.

"But..." I continue.

...and wait while silently staring at me

"Definitely not at the cost... of **losing** the war?" I finish off.

"Can your Semblance **win** you the war then?" My father asks me seriously with his blue-eyes piercing through me.

"...I don't know..." I start out weakly.

"But it is a step in the **right** direction." But end up strongly.

"If losing this **war** is something that you definitely can not allow, then do it." My father states with a nod of his head.

...

.._It's not..._

._But..._

_..._

_..I can't..._

_..no but..._

_..._

_.._

_._

"Alright.." I say before losing steam.

...

"suuu" I breathe in deeply

...

..

"haaa" Then breathe out deeply.

"I will." And then I did it.

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p>The last <strong>*ping*<strong> is the great and amazing skill: **Fool's Act** by the way. Since it's something else that Jaune won't want to think about to actually say in the story I'm probably better off saying it here.

And yes, Jaune did just spend the entire chapter thinking up ways to win his little fight with his current resources, as he unconsciously realized that he could only win his fight if he maximized the use of his stat points despite trying to convince himself otherwise-hence why he kept distracting himself.

And due to his convictions continuing on from a time where his WIS was 4; Jaune was attempting to continue being 'him' by holding on to what he was already doing DESPITE the fact that his WIS had increased to 6... all while warding off any thoughts of doing things DIFFERENTLY.

So now Jaune will increase both his INT and his WIS and everything will be great?

...

..

Ha.

**No.**

He is now exactly what he was thinking about NPC characters in general.

A random character.

One who is more situated towards INT and WIS, but one who still just spent 4 STR, 3 VIT, 2 DEX, and more than 8, but less than 15 of his points on INT and WIS.

* * *

><p>So far in the story he,<p>

1) Got temporarily banned from the Library.-Though it slipped his mind as unimportant.

2) Completed half of the tutorial.

3) Set up a Duel.

4) Planned how to fight said duel.

5) Decided not to use said plan based on new information.

6) Learned a bit more about being a Human from one persons point of view.

A lot of accomplishment for less than 24 hours in-story.

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p>But mathematically he,<p>

1) Lost access to a lot of skill books that he could have borrowed, copied, and made use of.

2) Got trapped in low level land for a week, meaning he can't Level up against most real Grimm.

3) Challenged someone far stronger than him to a fight, someone who without a week's preparation, would kill him even with his inheritance.

4) Spent more time either sleeping or complaining than actually planning; and the plan he finally did come up with towards the end of the chapter at best, would have a bit more than a 50% chance of working. And since at least some of his preconceptions are wrong... his chances are a lot worse than he thinks.

BUT at the same time, his ability to train his statistics upward is also a lot better than he thinks.

Or at least a lot better for physical basis.

As he still thinks he's an RPG character, he now thinks like he's in Grand Theft Auto. Slow and painful growth of stats that don't really affect much for a long while. Which to be fair, does to a certain extent describe gaining mental stats.

But as for his physical stats...

**The Gamer** has physical stat gains are closer to a Dating Sim; one that you actually had to do the working out that was being described, but still increases quickly at lower levels regardless.

5) Reduced his chance to win said fight to almost nothing with his current plans.

6) Learned a view of humanity that pulled him towards increasing weird stats.

Similar to the actual **The Gamer** web-comic, no extra MP or HP is gained from INT or VIT until higher Levels. Meaning he just increased what in a game would still be mostly cosmetic stats and he KNOWS that. Hence his note in earlier chapters that it must have been a fixed exploit. Which is why none of his plans involved increasing INT or WIS. Since unlike VIT which at least helps out his **The Shield** style of combat, INT and WIS for all he knows only affects his Aura.

And since all he could do with his Aura was weakly heal... Or maybe use better conversation options, none of it worked as more than an accomplice to his plans.

But, the stats are not cosmetic to him. They really do expand the level and degree of his thoughts. And increases to WIS still affects the **MP regen. rate **correctly.

So if he had increased his WIS with all of his points before he entered the tutorial...

* * *

><p>He would have actually been able to see it as a bad idea to get angry at even the greeter character. And would have had enough extra MP regen. to successfully camp the tutorial monsters. He would have gotten drops. Enough money to actually buy a few carefully selected books from a bookstore to gain skills despite being banned from the library. And after leaving the tutorial he would have already been around Level 10 or so.<p>

Of course, since the tutorial would have told him about gaining points through effort rather than just Levels, he would have already spent a variable number of points to make farming the monsters more efficient... but not as many as he did in story.

And naturally, he wouldn't have made the greeter a crush, nor very nearly made his combat instructor an enemy; meaning he would not have to worry about his new weapon helping him become a Hero, and would have gotten a **combat skill book **as his reward for the tutorial rather than **crappy medicine**,

And that has far reaching consequences for him:

* * *

><p>No <strong>Yunhon Soul Recovery<strong> equivalent had he shown Priest tendencies.

No **Strength of a Giant** equivalent had he shown Berserker tendencies.

No **Troll's Restoration Power** equivalent had he shown Paladin tendencies.

No **Bronze Skin** equivalent had he shown Warrior tendencies.

No **Mana Shield **equivalent had he shown Wizard tendencies.

No **Basic Granting Magic** equivalent had he shown Enchanter tendencies.

No **Summon Elemental** equivalent had he shown Shaman tendencies.

And most powerfully:

No **Instant Dungeon Create/Escape** equivalents had he shown Gamer tendencies.

* * *

><p>So rather than be helped towards a class, and be able to draw strength and synergies... to actually have an idea of what he could and should do... He instead got medicine that would get him arrested if anyone tried analyzing the effects of it.<p>

He can still get the reward for the non-combat portion of the tutorial which is also based on how much the NPC likes him... but since Now defaults at really liking everybody... it's nearly impossible to break the system enough to get a different reward. So he can still get a weak but useful trinket... Which will only change in a few circumstances.

* * *

><p>I finally caught up from mid-terms week, depending on how things go on Monday and with my other activities on Tuesday, I may have another chapter out sometime on Tuesday.<p>

It should see an end to this fight. Meaning that it took him around 3 (less than 7500 words by definition) short stories worth of words to resolve the tutorial.

A full lesser novel of:

**Accomplishment.**


	6. The Hero Is A Friend To All Animals

**RWBY + The Gamer**= Not owned by me.

**Roosterteeth Sung San-Young**= Owned by them.

* * *

><p><strong>garoorar<strong>:That it does. I was trying to get that effect without the story either seeming to become crack or end up with Jaune furthering the Dating Sim theme in an unfitting manner.

Too much mood whiplash and all that...

So it starts out with Jaune at the end of his annoyance from what happened the previous chapter, the whole 'being affected for hours afterwards thing that happens to people's thoughts' after something that makes them angry happens. Moves on to getting absorbed in what they're thinking about 'because both because they have a deadline to deal with and because they don't actually want to think about why they were angry in the first place'. Then he got too absorbed into the whole video game thing enough that it became an interesting game for him. Then it moved on to his father and the power of choice. Something that Jaune felt he didn't have since he was already in a big fight and from his current point of view, said fight had to end in his victory or his death. It's why towards the end with all the talk of choices he started vaguely seeing that things may not be that way, but that he wouldn't be able to tell as he currently was. Which is why the chapter went the way it did.

* * *

><p>Version 1: Didn't have almost any training montage at all. Just a listing of skills and the actual battle. But it felt too divorced from the abilities that Jaune had gained to work.<p>

Version 2: Had Jaune being saved in battle by his sister. But it just made Nero seem a 1-dimensional strong ally character so I felt it wasn't good enough to portray why Jaune still thought fondly of Nero despite his enhanced paranoia on his family.

I hope this version works a bit better.

I spent too long writing on why I think sending him to different combat schools is interesting on the old bottom while writing version 3 too. Decided it was off-topic enough to not post, just like how last chapter I had written and not posted anything about the origin of Grimm by this worlds canon. It adds several pages by itself… so yeah.

A summary of that discussion would basically be:

Vale = Africa-variety due to original shamanism of the area + innovation, Mantle = Most of Central and Northern Europe-Technology, and German Apprenticeship system warring against Nationalism of the original nations and assembly line system, Mistral = Rome, Greek, Mesopotamia-the basics due to warrior past, Other half of Vytal (Vacuo half) = Asia + middle-east-meritocracy since Confucius China is it's head, also protectorate system that makes the little people under the head pretty independant . Island to the south eastern edge of Mistral = Australia-Tourists!, the Black Dragon Continent = The Iberian peninsula-most of outside of the green and white are filled with Grimm trying to reclaim it, White Dragon = Russia-another badass warrior group in the Mistral area. Most of the center of Vytal-Grimm. Ziz- Island in the sea to the center of Mantle-Involved with what happened to Gram the first Demon Sword of Siegfried (of Arc), Leviathan-Sea between Vytal and Mistral-likes resting on the Brown and Green southern Islands-Involved with what happened to Excalibur of Artus (of Arc), Behemoth-closer to Vale than Vacuo but likes wandering around the center of the continent-Involved with Charlemagne and Julius Caesar (of Arc)

I also said why I put various people in various places but meh.. The ending authors note is already too long even without writing world building

* * *

><p><strong>Jaune Arc: The Accidental Hero<strong>

**Chapter 3**

**The Hero Is A Friend To All Animals**

**XXX**

* * *

><p>Death.<p>

An endless darkness.

An eternal rest.

The great equalizer

The most inescapable fate.

_I... lose..._

No other outcome was possible.

After I challenged such an impossible foe...

That I managed to bring finish half of it is a huge accomplishment.

_Now will probably understand..._

_But to me..._

...

"Wow. Big Brother can really cook!" exclaimed a high-pitched voice from out of nowhere.

?!

As I turn around, on instinct I hear myself say

"No. You'll spoil your dinner Nero." Having recognized that voice anywhere.

"Eh... But Big Brother, you have like a million of them!" Exaggerates the voice with big teary eyes and grandly stretched out arms.

"No. You're still growing." Having done this before I respond on the back of the last syllable of her last word.

"Wah! I hate you!" Attempting to roar, but only succeeding in sounding cute the voice shouts.

"The **King of Dance** is a great man who accepts all hatred. He-" I recite.

"Is a big doodiebutt!" Wrongly finishes the voice for me.

"Nero." I attempt to divert her. _Oh no._

"Doodiebutt!" sings

"Nero." _When she's like this..._

"**Doodie**butt!" happily

"Nero." _She won't stop._

"Doodie**butt**!" like a bird

"One piece." while wondering whether this will avert **The Doom**.

"Dood-" then stops and

Yay! Cake! Cake! Cake!" cheers as she starts cutting a cake in half.

_And a double loss..._

...

"...Hey. Big Brother?" The voice comes back in the middle of eating her cake with a frosting mustache.

_Oh no..._

"Y-yes?" I answer as calmly as I can. _Don't want more. Don't want more. Don't want more._

"Share with me?" She smiles at me cutely.

"N- Huh?" I look at her dumbly. _Imposter?! Nero never shares her cake! _

"...Well you look kind of sad. So I'm going to share a bit of my cake with you." Nero explains to me.

"I see..." feeling touched I respond. "But you know that I can always make more cake right?"

"!What. No you can't!" Nero suddenly shouts. "This cake is special!"

"Why?" I deadpan. _Yes she 'somehow' found the attempt I made with my highest rank of cooking and crafting skills so far... but it shouldn't be __that __different._

"Be-because it's my cake! I'm sharing it with you so-And it's not because I dislike you!" Says Nero quickly.

"Dislike?" I question.

"I mean I **lik**-No! That!?" As she starts going red and flailing around.

*pat pat* "Don't worry I understand." I smile while patting her head. "You're going to be Empress Nero someday and so you need to share with your closest vassals right?" I continue smiling at her.

"Tha-Yes that's it exactly. King Jaune is smart. I'm amazing for choosing such a smart vassal!" Nero nods in agreement while beaming with a smile that fills her whole face.

_Nero the girl in front of me is a small and slender girl gold haired girl with soft milk-white skin. Her green eyes shine with animal cunning, and the slight muscles on her frame hint at her skills as an able gymnast. Despite being the youngest of the Arc siblings... and despite also not having activated her Aura yet, she is physically strong enough that she could probably kill a Beowolf already._

_In fact..._

"Observe." I whisper tuning out Nero while she continues to praise herself.

* * *

><p><strong>Name: Nero Arc<strong>

**Gender: Female**

**Class: The Princess**

**Job: Elementary School 2nd Year**

**Title: Blazing Sword**

**Level: 5**

**Age: 7**

**Next Level: 25.31%**

**STR: 30**

**DEX: 20**

**VIT: 15**

**INT: 5**

**WIS: 4**

**LUK: 15**

* * *

><p><em>...Hmm.. oddly the positioning of stats change with Observe levels…or something... and where did health and short bio go?<em>

…

_Wait no!.._

_.._

_For __those __stats.._

_She too must have an absurd inborn skill…_

_I think my LUK got me this Semblance… perhaps she has a 'Ruler' type ability which enhances everything but mental stats? Or maybe it's just full physical Semblance that she's starting to manifest the signs of?_

_We inherit the same blood after all... Mom never talked about her family but she actually does better in high-class society than Dad does. So maybe the Blood of Heroes and the Blood of Nobles mixed together..? Or perhaps it was reawakened blood of one of our long distant ancestors in the Arc line?_

…_._ "Suu" I take another deep breathe.

_Well... the only thing I can be completely certain of is…_

_.. _"Haa" and exhale deeply as well.

_I feel sorry for all the boys around her when she grows up._

"Hmm? Admiring my beauty?" Nero questions, "Even if you are silly sometimes, you have good taste. I'm going to become the best artist becau-" While preening like a peacock.

"You're already the world's most beautiful work of art?" I finish while feeling the urge to pat her on the head again.

"Yes." As she nods rapidly, "Now cake time! He he cake~" Then points at the giant blob of frosting covered bread with her fork like a conductor about to direct a grand symphony.

_As we eat the cake I think back to a few hours ago, on why I started baking these cakes._

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Since I have a skill that benefits from INT, currently its more valuable.<em>

_With that last stingy thought as a base, I decided to double my INT from 6 to 12, while just increasing my WIS by 4 to 10._

_If my theory on how these points are calculated was correct, I would soon be a bit smarter than your average teenager._

_More importantly; I would be able to keep a full levels worth of points in reserve; as much as the difference between a **ʻSmall Childʻ** in a single stat and an **A****dult;**or whatever it called default players._

_Afterwards, I came to a realisation._

_That Now was actually quite similar to an older version of my youngest sister. Charlotte despite being named after a famous ruler, was a surprisingly shy girl. Despite being taller than the one year older Nero, her weakness of presence; or rather near complete lack of presence was low enough that it may actually have something to do with her Semblance, and the only reason I knew her even reasonably well was because Nero; the most clingy of my sisters constantly pulled her around with her._

_As Dango from my interactions with her also resembled Nero greatly, being very emotional, very over the top, yet good at heart…._

_.._

_Or at least I hoped she was good at heart._

…_._

_Well if I was correct about both them being similar and of both girls having a similar relationship with each other that my sisters did between themselves… _

_I should be able to treat them the same. Or rather they were similar enough that I probably can obtain an extra effect at calming them down using the techniques I use against my sisters._

_And if Now really did get caught up in the mad frenzy of Dango in the same way that Charlotte did with Nero... Then even after a fight, Dango would be more angry for the sake of her 'sister-who-she-has-to-take-care-of', than she would for any 'useless-words-said-towards-her-by-a-mere-plebeian.' So dealing with Now rather than Dango was the key to this._

_And in order to deal with her I need to properly show my sincerity, which is best done by baking her a cake. __Not just any cake either, but a 4-tier cake; like those served at those fancy parties that some members of my extended family seem to enjoy so much. _

_'The looks stroke the desire to eat, and make me want to eat it more; that is what art is, and does.' according to Nero (Age 6 at the time). And I get the impression that Dango greatly cares about food as well._

_So I looked it up on the internet. A Do It Yourself (DIY) wedding cake for 70 people. With 6 supporting cakes of other flavors for 30 people. _

_A full quarter thousand people worth of cake; another symbol, like how not all the food at a party is supposed to be eaten, but rather exist as a reflection of wealth and opulence. Lying at itʻs best, a perfect use of skill for someone like me._

_Cookies are individual little morsels, so while a mountain of them would have some impact, in the end I decided that cakes would impress more, as it would not be divisible without paying homage to it's size with a knife._

_Of course if I'm wrong… they may think that cutting cake is like cutting people and start getting excited to cut me-_

…_._

**_NOPE_**

…

_I should at least bake more than 40 of them for practice; so I can test whether they stay fresh once put into my inventory. I can then use them for HP/MP replenishment (maybe) as well as possible food bonuses (maybe) based upon how long they can stay fresh._

_Still the costs are a bit high. Even a full years allowance wouldn't be enough. So by normal video game thought, I wouldn't have enough money to finance this._

_But I am not in a video game._

_Just a video game character in the real world._

_So I can make choices here unlike that of an actual video game._

_So I borrowed money from my father, and borrowed Crocea Mors. Not a 'either or' choice, not only being able to borrow the Legendary Family Heirloom; something semi-normal in video games, but both. __He didn't even pressure me on why I wanted the money, seeming to understand the importance of keeping what I was doing hidden! __Or rather… I feel now that he probably understood how important it was to me to have it stay hidden._

_But without my increase in INT and WIS... would I have even noticed that?_

_...Or woul-_

_Anyway, finding out if I get loot from kills is becoming increasingly vital now._

_Luckily I still have to train._

_At least I had the strength of mind to fire off an Energy Bolt to estimate its strength before upgrading my INT/WIS; it can't be helped I didn't do the same with my other skills.…_

_Still, I need training because, if it was Nero who I had pissed off, while the cake would have made Charlotte happy, it only would have appeased Nero to being a bit grouchy, and more importantly it would not take back my oath to fight. So I had to do both of these things, otherwise; should Dango be anything like Nero, she would still hold a grudge against me for breaking my words; that I felt a bit bad because they were similar to my sisters... probably had a bit to do with it as well._

_But thinking on that..._

_..._

"Hmmm.. Hmmm..? Big Brother what are you thinking about?" Said Nero while tilting her head at me.

"I was just thinking about how I needed help with training my new Semblance and awakened Aura." I told her seriously. _That should do it._

"!You awakened them!?" With eyes widened, "Well I suppose you area King." before she calmed down, "And you're two years older than me so awakening it now is fine as long as I awaken them in a year." She finished off while nodding to herself.

"Yes. Sieglinde is too much stronger than I am." _Or rather she would question my exact capabilities so I can't get her to help me. "_The twins are rarely alone, and would probably kill me in their quest of Knighthood and Pranks." _Or rather Lily would somehow find out exactly how my abilities work inexplicitly and Arthuria would probably take all the experience without meaning too._"And Charlotte is obviously too young still to help me. So I'm trapped without any help." _Or rather she will probably be too timid and shy to help me out properly._

"Hmm... Hmmm... A good leader helps her people when they need it!" Nero starts. "I'll help you with anything you want me to."

_Looking at the smaller girl who looks so delicate and fragile... _

_I think only one thing:_

**_Tank acquired._**

"Thank you Nero." I start calmly with a hand to my chest. "I will do my best to live up to your expectations." I end with a deep bow.

_Now I should go recrui-_

"Then let's go!" Nero starts to tug at me.

_Wha-no…!?_

"B-but!?" I attempt

"Now!" and fail

"Can I just-" I try again

"No!" and fail again

"At least let-" I go

"Nope!" And it doesn't work

"Dishes! The Dishes!" I shout out!

"Hwah?!" _And she stops!_

"Hm… Hmmm… Alright. I'll go get my gear, be done in 10 minutes Big Brother." She demands with attempted authority but only succeeding in sounding cute again.

I nod my head at her.

And then she glides away.

..

While staring at the huge pile of dishes in our industrial sized kitchen I can only think...

_Well I better finish this..._

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p>On one side of a large clearing stands a roughly 32 kilo boy of nearly 138 cm, and on the other side, stands a roughly 100 kilo wolf of around 180 cm.<p>

_Place your bets ladies and gentlemen _the boy thinks in his mind.

How did it come to this?

An hour ago I was safely wondering why something as mundane as washing dishes got its own separate skill and no general 'cleaning' skill, while 'craft' was a general skill with things like 'cooking' being specific skills within it.

Now I was in a forest right outside of town following a seven-year old to go hunt 'doggies'; her name for the vicious biting chewing scratching large nearly dire wolfs of Soulless malice known to the rest of the world as 'Beowolves'.

I **tried** to stop it.

I had wanted to fight 'Squeakers' the vicious biting chewing scratching tiny nearly cute rats of Soulless malice known to the rest of the world as 'those-annoying-rats'.

Even ordinary people can take on a few of them.

Mandatory self-defense classes may only apply in Mistral, but most people everywhere learn enough to kill 'Mini-Grimm' the Grimm who so weak that Hunters only kill them if thousands of them gather.

So I figured going to a nest of dozens of upper-class Mini-Grimm/lower-class Grimm would be a good but safe experience.

But she thought differently.

'_An Arc Semblance tested out on vermin?! Hmm Hmm Hmm! Thats such a good joke Big Brother. Don't worry about showing off in front of me, I can handle it. Let me take you to the silly doggies place where I trained for years.'_

_She even did a funny dance in the early portion of her talk; perhaps that's why I didn't think anything of it. _

_After all… 'It's not like a little kid could have been killing Grimm right?'_

_Why can't I go kick my past se-_

Still… It's not completely bad. I have a tank and I have a defensive martial arts skill…

_ʻExcept all of your physical and Aura based inherited skills are weaker than they should be.ʻ _I can almost hear in my head.

I can do this.

_Even if I can't, I have 5 whole points to distribute! I'll be just fine._

_And-_

"We're here!" My sister suddenly shouts out, while pointing at a lone Beowolf.

_I'm here with someone who already killed lots of these right?_

But of course that would be too easy...

So when we arrived my precious tank just sat down to watch me take down the Beowolf with my 'amazing mage Semblance'; my excuse to get her to tank for me taken with all the trust of a 7-year-old girl.

So here I was, having to make the illusion into reality…

Still as a first test it wasn't that bad.

While most of my inherited skills are now weaker perhaps due to an invisible limit in 'inheritance points' or something; where perhaps I had to choose which skills to inherit levels in, and all the rest were only temporarily stronger to make my choice; it was a tutorial after all. Still until I got a safe chance to test it, using my martial arts against the Grimm was not a risk I was willing to take.

But I did not need those skills against a single Beowolf.

I **knew** their weaknesses.

"Observe" I quietly look at the Beowolf.

* * *

><p><strong>Base Stats: STR: 25, DEX: 15, VIT: 25, INT: 6, WIS: 6, LUK: 10<strong>

* * *

><p>But I should also assume that it has both class and title bonuses….<p>

So let's just pretend it's 30% stronger than it actually is.

* * *

><p><strong>So estimate: STR: 32.5, DEX: 19.5, VIT: 32.5, INT: 7.8, WIS: 7.8, LUK: 13<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p>In reality he is quite close.<p>

ʻThe Lonerʻ adds +10% to all stats and activates when the quest Beowolf is fighting alone.

While the Title: ʻYoungest Daughter of A Big Bad Wolfʻ adds +15% for fighting 'small children' or prey to a Beowolf; it even has a nursery rhyme about it! Though its primary target makes it have 30% against 'golden haired girls' and it has a weaker effect on 'children' at 10%.

Still the Beowolf really has the full stats of:

* * *

><p><strong>STR: 31.25 (25+2.5+3.75)<strong>

**DEX: 18.75 (15+1.5+2.25)**

**VIT: 31.25 (25+2.5+3.75)**

**INT: 7.5 (6+.6+.9)**

**WIS: 7.5 (6+.6+.9)**

**LUK: 12.5 (10+1+1.5)**

* * *

><p>Which compared to Jaune's own stats.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>STR: 8, VIT: 7, DEX: 6, INT: 12, WIS: 10, LUK: 55<strong>

* * *

><p>Also his low-level of ʻBasic Aura Manipulationʻ doesn't allow the 5% and 10% bonuses to stack; rather the 10% just overwrites the 5% bonus to all stats. With the special effect the bonus is doubled to 20%; or still weaker than the additional of 25% total for the Beowolf on top of Jaune's already weaker base stats.<p>

But, it's fine; the Beowolf is female, so the title 'Apprentice Lady Killer'title adds 5 to Jaune's stats giving him a grand total of:

* * *

><p><strong>STR: 14.6(8+5+1.6)<strong>

**VIT: 13.4 (7+5+1.4)**

**DEX: 12.2 (6+5+1.2)**

**INT: 19.4 (12+5+2.4)**

**WIS: 17 (10+5+2)**

**LUK: 71 (55+5+11)**

* * *

><p><strong>Or Jaune has less than half the strength, around two-thirds the DEX, and barely a third of the VIT of the Beowolf…<strong> making a physical fight seem impossible. While the extra 5% attack and defense bonuses have some effect; a pure physical fight is impossible. But it isn't a pure physical fight.

Trading blows with a Beowolf who as a quest titled monster has the base (100*level) HP that ordinary Beowolves have multipled by 1.5, for a total of 900 HP would result in a Jaune-sized smear on the ground while the Beowolf was still two-thirds alive.

But Jaune knows something else about Beowolves that overturns all of that…

* * *

><p><em>Beowolves lack special skills. <em>

That simple statement was enough to make even the ever impatient Nero wait for me.

_That one also has no MP; but I can't tell her that._

_Low class Grimm are only strong against physical damage, and really low-class Grimm; such as a little Level 6 wolf… probably its outright weak to INT skills still. Since VIT probably just governs physical toughness and general toughness, while INT is needed to not just measure intelligence, but also the ability to attune to and withstand the energies of INT based attacks as well. Or at least that's what I got from how easily Humanity were able to drive back Grimm once they got dust combined with my family research about how even young future 'Heroes' of magical bent went against so many of the lesser Grimm only to die tragically against a Greater Grimm like nothing later._

_Also even if I hadn't already sold Nero on the idea that I have a mage Semblance, using my MP to create a physical move would be stupid. As a monster it probably has far more HP than I do. I'll guess (200*level) or HP 1200 since it may be a rare mini-boss or something._

_And I already saw what the increase in damage from INT does to Energy Bolt does.. so I think I can make it by increasing my INT despite it normally being stupid to increase my INT while it still doesn't increase my MP._

"Click" A noise only I can hear.

And now I have **INT: 25.4 (17+5+3.4);** enough to create a new skill if I do this slowly enough.

_This time I'll use my entire arm. _Coming to a decision. _The main problem last time was increasing the mass and controlling it at the same time. So more mass should allow me to compensate somewhat. _As I analyze my past failure with finger bullets and past success using my palm.

Energy gathers using an entire arm, reducing the control requirements of the skill further. Slowly it gathers and slightly compresses. Bit by bit it sharpens, becoming only twice the size as the palm sized orb that Energy Blast creates.

***ping***

* * *

><p><strong>A skill has been created through a special action.<strong>

**Through the power of your actions the skill 'Focused Energy Bolt' has been created.**

**Focused Energy Bolt (Active) EXP: Lv 1 14.03% 10 MP**

**A skill that attacks by focusing mana into a sphere through an entire arm before emitting it. **

**Attack power increases with INT.**

**Additional 50% attack damage increase over Energy Bolt**

**Charges for 5 seconds.**

**May be slow charged an additional 25 seconds. Uses 2 MP/second.**

**CURRENT MAX: Additional 150% attack damage increase over Energy Bolt**

* * *

><p>And then it dissipates.<p>

"I used up quite a bit of Aura that time to put an attack at the right intensity to deal with a Beowolf of that level." I start to explain to my sister, "I also haven't gotten used to running with Aura yet, so I used up more than I should have. Give me ten minutes and I'll be ready to go." _Or rather, I actually replenished all of my MP outside of this half complete technique. So I'm only missing around 40 MP from that partial charge till creation, and since I now regain 2 MP/minute while focusing on that Beowolf as a target… I would guess that once my WIS hit 10 that it started adding to my mana regen, since it was only 1 MP/minute when I last checked... In 10 minutes I should gain at least 20 MP. And if I focus on the feeling of my energy I should be able to regulate it a bit better._

After remaining silent for a while, my sister responded with a cheerful "Alright Big Bro~"

And so we waited.

Nero started talking to me… but then it appears that she noticed that I was trying to regulate my Aura and so stayed silent to not distract me.

_I'll bake her some cookies later._

…

..

.

***ping***

* * *

><p><strong>Basic Ki Breathing LV 1 EXP: 23.75%<strong>

**Through proper regulation of Ki, the ability to recover Ki is enhanced.**

**External shocks will break Ki Breathing and cause you to fall into a state of Ki confusion.**

**Gain additional 10 MP/minute**

* * *

><p><em>Seems I was right. Even weakened, my martial arts is still an ancient Arc style technique; its mere existence in me is enough to create a basic breathing technique.<em>

Because of that, I was barely ready in the proper time frame.

"Time to get to work." I grin at Nero, "I should be able to handle it now so watch me."

_As an estimate, Energy Bolt with this much INT… maybe 100 damage? The focused version has even less problems with defenses so maybe 300 damage? _I silently calculate.

_I can fire off ordinary Energy Bolts… mmm maybe a dozen of them from this distance?… but to get that increased range I'll need to concentrate… so let's assume at least 5 if I get no stun effect and 6-8 if it has a stun effect against those weak to it._And come to a conclusion.

_300+ 500 (100*5) =** 800**, or **400 life left** by my estimate on its HP._

_60 + 25 (5*5) = 85 MP of 150 used._

_As long as I can mix in 2 Energy Bolts while in melee combat, I will not die._

_Besides, but I doubt Nero will let me die if I make a fool of myself here…_

_So it's safe…_

_Or rather-_

…SAFE

..

And so I begin to apply said conclusion.

...

I feel the energy start to gather around my arm, but far more quickly and in a somewhat more stable way. I wait until I feel that the sphere cannot hold anymore, and then extend out my arm to launch the attack.

* * *

><p>"Focused Energy Bolt." I say out loud just in case it helps me control it.<p>

The melon sized orb of energy flies rapidly towards the Beowolf who appears to detect it right before it hits, but it's too late, so it gets blown away. _350, seems I got a good free hit._

"Energy Bolt" I say aiming around 20 meters in front of where the Beowolf fell on a hunch.

It manages to hit the Beowolf in the face as it leaped forward! _122_

"Energy Bolt" the ball grazes the Beowolf in its legs. _tch! 63_

"Energy Bolt" the Beowolf reaches half way across the clearing and dodges by jumping back. _Fast!_

"Energy Bolt" Aiming to right behind the Beowolfs positi-a hit as it jumped back. _Compensated 96_

"Energy Bolt" At two-thirds way to me I can't miss: The Beowolf tanked the hit to reach me quicker. _Close! 88._

"Energy Bolt" with one hand _hmm that 105 made it... _"Die." while rapidly shooting another energy bolt with my other hand just as the Beowolf lunged at me.

* * *

><p><strong>*ping*<strong>

"pat" I side step the slowed down corpse looking quite calm.

_I forgot about the corpse staying around for a moment. That was close._

_Hmm..._

* * *

><p><strong>Experience Gained: 350<strong>

**You've defeated the youngest child of a Big Bad Wolf.**

**Beware hunting Beowolves until this quest is resolved.**

* * *

><p><em>It appears to have closer to 900 HP, but it has a bit more defense than I thought it would… <em>

_Still despite being stronger than me… _

_It died in such a boring way to only 95 MP, 60 for the Focused Energy Bolt and 35 MP from the Energy Bolts 7 different 5 MPers; I remember games where you use up all you MP to kill monsters your own level… _

_So this should work quite well._

_I can recover from 55 to full in 10 minutes… so maybe 5 of them in an hour. And with how somewhat higher level skills look… maybe I can do up to 10 an hour for today?_

_Well I'll test my new level 2 Energy Bolt and see how it goes before going in-depth with my calculations... _

* * *

><p>"Hmm… looks like I'll have to recover again." I say attempting to sound casual to Nero.<p>

"Hmm… Hmmm!" Nero laughs in her strange way. "It does appear to possess adequate ability as far as strength goes," she notes somewhat seriously, "But it is highly inefficient at the same time." Finishing off seriously with a flight frown.

"Yes that why I needed help. Until I can control it better, I'll need time to recharge. I wanted to do rapid-fire testing with Squeakers, but doing a focused test against a lone Beowolf isn't bad either." I slowly but seriously reason out for her. _Believe my lies!_

"Hmmm… That style of fighting lacks art," Nero starts off with to my gut clenching "but I suppose, for now, it can't be helped." and she ends to my relief while still frowning cutely.

"Thank you for your help Nero." I start off, "We can always hunt them faster later after I get more used to this alright?" I promise Nero with a smile and a pat to her head before she starts to sulk.

"I-It's fine! I'm going to be **Empress** so this is normal." Nero says while doing another silly dance.

_Still… if I can expand the power using more area… can I do it the opposite way as well?_

_If so… I may even be able to handle two at once soon._

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p>A small boy is being chased by five large wolves.<p>

Above their heads it says:

**(The Bullied)**

And some number between 6 to 10 above their heads; such as the fine specimen about to rip of-oh and looks like he failed. Too bad Beowolf, try again later.

"THIS wasn't a **good** IDEA!" yells the boy at the top of his lungs.

"Yes you're right. It was a **great** idea!" Responds back an even smaller girl being chased by another fifteen large wolves.

It appears to be a hopeless situation. One where the big bad wolves will soon chase down and tear the small children limb to limb but….

Appearances are deceiving.

And it starts to show as the barely meter tall girl suddenly jump kicks at the Beowolf at the head of the line of the wolves chasing the boy; the hard worker from earlier in fact, while the boy extends his hand to shoot around a dozen small balls of energy at the feet of the wolves chasing the girl, causing the wolves to begin to tumble like dominos.

The girl then leaps off of Mr. Hard Worker, and rapidly draws her sword slicing off the legs of the rest of the Beowolves while swiftly flying through the wolf's, going into a perfect handstand, transitioning into a flip, and finally ending in a sliding stop.

The boy in the meanwhile, propels small rocks from empty space with his Aura to skillfully distract all the remaining wolves while screaming.

"Bad day. Bad day. Bad day!" A most strange battle cry wouldn't you say?

How did this situation come to be?

Well to answer that you would have to go back many years to a Vacuoian Television show...

But the answer to this immediate situation is far more simple.

* * *

><p>The boy made a <strong>mistake<strong> in assuming that his **sister** had high levels of **STR, DEX, and VIT **due to a **Semblance**. Rather, the partially activated Semblance of his sister allowed a **partial copying of a skill**; including partial gaining of the qualifications to use said skills.

Because of that...

While her brother Jaune had spent much time listening to stories, and then later on, researching more about the family history, his sister Nero never really cared at all the semantics.

She just went and re-enacted the old stories in miniature on her own instead.

While Jaune Arc heard stories about hordes of Beowolves falling against a single Hero, Nero was killing hordes of Squeakers as a single Heroine.

While Jaune Arc heard stories about deadly Eldar Ursa hunting in packs beneath a true Alpha Ursa, Nero was killing packs of Yowlers, a type of small feline Grimm led by a Boss Cat that sometimes infested the oldest parts of the underground sewers.

While Jaune Arc heard stories about the truly ancient Goliaths, terrors of the battlefield and starting questioning his purpose in life, Nero was killing truly ancient smelling slime-tusks, terrors of the sewer that descended from a mix between Squeakers and Boartusks; 'a-smaller- porkchop-you-couldn't-even-eat' according to Nero as she started questioning why people acted as if people who killed Grimm were in danger of dying.

While Jaune Arc was searching the family records for Heroes, suffering and trying to resolve a crisis of faith, Nero was searching for ways to make more Grimm suffer for making other people go through their own crisis of faith.

And while Jaune Arc was awakening his Semblance in the most extraordinary moment of his life, Nero was just having fun poking at her 'super amazing endless supply of doggies' in a completely ordinary day.

For you see: Nero earned all of those increased stat points, through sheer experience and skill; skill which she slowly engraved into her body; to the point where

Skill that came about due to her Semblance, but her base points were actually quite normal.

So looking to train with her as a safe experiment was probably a bad idea.

* * *

><p><em>I guess it wasn't that bad?<em>

_I mean... I suppose that they **WERE **called _**'**_**The Bullied' **__so they must have lost a lot of stats… or something?_

_Like 'these losers are redshirts' as a title or something._

_Maybe one that gave them pluses against that mons-the one who bullied them, and negatives against anyone else… It's the only way I can see that I managed to survive while trying to cast my way through everything… especially when I ran out of MP to actually cast…. and had to cheat and use my sword a bit. I hope she didn't notice that I was actually decent at sword techniques._

_While I can't gain levels, it's too bad they give almost no experience either... _

_But I really could create a larger Energy Bolt and split it up into smaller little distractions. _

_Too weak to be a _**'_Shotgun' _**_but since I could name it, and as shotgun it's short enough to be easily repeatable, well I can get it stronger later I'm certain. _

_So it's fine, I just have to kill enough thousands of Grimm with this later to earn that name and more._

_..._

_.._

_And I could also use it more rapidly to propel something that already has mass to-_

…

_Oh crap... _

**_She saw me do it._**

"Hmm... Hmmm… I guess we're done here." Notes my still innocent looking younger sister.

_If I comment she'll probably want to stay for more._

"No complaints then?" The demon of slaughter notes. "Since you're used to this much, let's go hunt little teddy bears next~" The tireless monster cheers.

_Teddy..?_

**_Bears_**_…__?_

_She can't mean…_

_Oh God n-_

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p>And it appears that the two are having a great time.<p>

Incidentally, because Jaune Arc **never** set up a party; perhaps because he never finished the tutorial, he actually has been gaining maybe a fifth to a tenth of all kill experience.

The remaining more than 80% is just disappearing due to Nero due to not being under **The Gamer** system. How sad.

Similarly, skills only gain at a faster pace from degrees of usage, rather than truly gaining more in actual battle than out of battle… so most of these gains could have been gotten through sparring alone. How truly sad.

Still it is a great bonding experience for the two siblings; rather, Nero's** 'Honored'** level of reputation is being filled up rapidly. Good thing he forgot to change his title huh?

You see, while Jaune doesn't know it yet… as all four of his older sisters have Physical Semblances, and all three of his younger sisters have Magical Semblances… all of his younger sisters know how strong being magic orientated can be, are proud of their own powers, and still idolize their **'Amazing Big Brother'** at this point of time….

So recruiting help from his younger sisters may have been a mistake no matter what.

Still… Let's go back to our siblings going through with their very useful training.

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p>*swoosh* *splat* A figure silently sweeps through a Beowolf with his sword with his left hand, before spinning around to stab another through its eye with his sword switched to his right hand, while using his left hand to distract a dozen more Beowolves with a quickly fired Shotgun. Said figure is moving robotically, and has glazed ocean blue eyes and a neutral look on his pale white face.<p>

As the figure experiences a state that looks similar to Mu; a state of pure fighting spirit, a thought breaks through the surface…

_Ah..my mind could actually be so bla-_

"RRR-", The figure suddenly dives forward into a roll, barely dodging a half blinded Ursa whose momentum continued on to have him break through a tree before crashing into a second one. "AAAWWR!"

The figure barely even twitches.

And then he goes back to robotically killing Beowolves.

"Ah sorry about that Big Brother. One of them got away from me." Says an innocent sounding voice from the direction that the Ursa came from. "Nero will have to punish herself by bringing in ten mo-" the voice turns cutesy.

**"NO!"** I yell, "I mean. It is a small matter." while calming down, "You shouldn't worry about it so much." I say quickly while throwing my shield at a trio of Beowolves to stun them for a second before firing off a larger slightly spinning energy bolt.

_The last time this happened, I made the mistake of saying she was too hard on herself and for **some reason** she decided to bring in twenty more Beowolves… _

"Hmm… Hmmm… Alright then, you can take care of the last teddy bear then Big Brother." The voice cheerfully says over a pile of five other dead Ursa Minor. "I've killed all the rest after all, so I'll play with the doggies again~" Ending happily amidst a disappearing pile of blood and flesh.

The 'doggies' and remaining wounded 'teddy bear' despite supposively being mindless creatures of Malice… freeze.

The Grimm

Are Afraid

Of **Her**

…

..

"After this want me to make you some even better cake?" I attempt to bribe while speaking rapidly hoping that she won't notice that I started to perspire.

"Hmm… Hmm! Yes! Big Brother's cake is the best!" The monster cheers.

_Alright… I have yet to take on even one Ursa Minor on my own yet. But she went through several dozen of them in the last few hours. After she discovered that I could recover so quickly, no matter how badly off I was, our breaks cut down, and after she discovered I had at least basic fighting ability… Why is the Ursa waiting for me!?_

Indeed the Lv 12 Ursa was just sitting down in the area calmly, just like he was waiting for me to come to him.

_Well I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth…_

_Alright, how should I do this?_

_Crocea Mors is indeed Legendary, but it appears that it's only property currently is 'Indestructible' I only have the sword left so I can either reclaim the shield or…_

_Hmm.. if it's just going to sit there…._

_..._

_.._

_Why don't I see if I can upgrade that again._

_It has more defenses than the Beowolf, but despite being a higher level it's not much stronger as a random mob. As long as I save half of my remaining MP though just in case..._

Energy gathers into an entire arm while being faintly released from an open palm. It slowly starts to spin… slowly enough that it's barely moving at all… and then with a boom and a ping only I can hear it is sent towards the Ursa Minor. Who sits still and waits… until right before it's about to hit him… before the entire blast is intercepted by a **giant paw**.

…Which is joined by the rest of the body

..

.

_Yep it's still there_

…Of a far larger Ursa who is looking less than pleased.

..

**(The Boss/Mother Bear)**

**Lv 15 Lesser Ursa Major**

…

"Ne-Nero!" I start out completely calmly. "I think we have a problem."_She killed so many of these that we should be just fine right?_

"Hmm…? Oh it's a bigger teddie bear" As I start to sigh in relief, "But we can't kill it so let's run away." Before starting to run away at full speed leaving the few remaining Beowolves to blink and me to choke on my sigh.

The Beowolves blink again.

The Ursa Minor blinks.

I blink back at them after recovering.

"ROAR!" And the Ursa Major reminds us of it's presence.

So I stop standing around looking stupid to run away at full speed as well.

**"Aura Skill."** I feel all of my parameters increase substantially, apparently 'Aura Skill' is not only quick to level up, but more importantly, it costs very little to activate. _I also didn't need to say the 'Basic, Intermediate, Advanced' parts either…_

_It also stacks quite well. While my stats are not auto-calculating my bonuses I can almost see them. At first I thought that the 5% stat bonus was overwritten by the 10% stat bonus; or rather at first that appeared to be the case. But as I increased my skills level towards 10… I started noticing it. A greater power than should be gotten by mere replacement. And earlier, when I finally hit level 10… I now have the full sum of benefits. Luckily, Ursa are slower than Beowolfs._

At **level 10** it adds: All stats by **14%** passively, and All states by **28%** actively.

This amount is doubled to **28%** and **56%** by the special ability.

In addition,** due to practice, my STR has increased by 3, VIT by 3, DEX by 2, INT by 1, and WIS by 1.**

So I currently have:

* * *

><p><strong>STR: 11<strong>

**VIT: 10**

**DEX: 8**

**INT: 18**

**WIS: 11**

**LUK: 55**

* * *

><p>Being modified by <strong>28%<strong> to:

* * *

><p><strong>STR: 14.08(11+3.08)<strong>

**VIT: 12.8(10+2.8)**

**DEX:10.24(8+2.24)**

**INT: 23.04(18+5.04)**

**WIS: 14.08(11+3.08)**

**LUK: 70.4 (55+15.4)**

* * *

><p><strong>No matter what I'm doing!<strong>

* * *

><p>And when I'm using the skill, I gain an extra <strong>56%<strong> more stats off of the base.

* * *

><p><strong>STR: 20.24 (11+3.08+6.16)<strong>

**VIT: 18.4 (10+2.8+5.6)**

**DEX: 14.72 (8+2.24+4.48)**

**INT: 33.12 (18+5.04+10.08)**

**WIS: 20.24 (11+3.08+6.16)**

**LUK: 101.2 (55+15.4+30.8)**

* * *

><p><em>Why did we have to move on to a new area earlier. Her fighting instincts… may be even better than Lily!<em>

_I-Hmmm why am I catching up to Nero?_

_..?_

_.?_

"What's wrong Nero." I say as calmly as a video game character who doesn't tire until most of their stamina runs out.

"Ah...haa it ran out." While visibly flagging I finally catch up to Nero.

"Out..?" I question with slightly widened eyes. _I really hope…._

"I-If I don't take too long b-breaks, I can c-copy and use the skills of other people…" Nero gasps out.

…

Suddenly I grab her "Hwahhh!?" and ignoring her startled struggling, carry her with one arm under her legs and the other supporting her back "**T-this is**!" Nero exclaims while for some reason squirming around with even more vigor.

"Don't worry." I interject my voice freezing Nero temporarily, "**I'll protect you**." I say looking down at her with a smile.

Oddly enough she squirmed more after that.

And then we crashed.

**"Soul Demise"** I quietly whisper to myself to heal Nero, ignoring the cold and lost without accompanying warmth and security.

"Ow...Hmm? That feels nice? I'm all better now?" Nero questions with almost visible question marks around her head.

"Ah yeah. While it's not very good yet, I can also heal just a bit." I explain ignoring Nero's silliness

_Please don't notice I used this before. Don't notice I used this before. Don't notic-!_

"Wow Big Brother is amazing!" Nero exclaims while pointing at me with a glowing smile. "Not even Charlotte has a power this diverse!" She says something interesting.

"C-Charlotte?" I deadpan. _It can't be…_

"Her Semblance is called **'The Student'**, and it makes her able to** learn anything at a faster pace than she should be able to**. It's why other than you she is the only one in our family to get **perfect grades**." Nero explains as if it's obvious.

"W-When did Charlotte get that Semblance?" _Don't say ages ago. Don't say-_

"**A year ago** when she started schooling." Nero continues cheerfully looking at me proudly.

_Huh?_

_.._

_Ah…_

pat pat. "Good girl." I say while smiling at her. _She's direct enough that I don't need to worry much._

"It surprised me when she got it," she says while crossing her arms and nodding her head in what I suspect to be a massive understatement "But I decided to make her into my secretary when I'm **Emperor**!" the nearly hyperactive blond proclaims.

"Anyway. What can she **do**." I question. _If I ask about strength I'll get nowhere._

...

..

"Shoot **bolts of Aura** like you and Scarlet do; except she can use elements too." She starts out with, "**Self-heal; but not heal other people ever. ** And **enhance** her physical ability and senses. Can't **meditate** as well as you or Scarlet can but I guess she can do that as well." She ends a large mostly useless list of things she can do to look at me.

_I chose the wrong sister…._

..

.

"I… See. I suppose it is something to expect from one of my sisters." I finally decide on.

"But it's nothing compared to my partly activated ability. I can already partially copy anything I want to, I even keep a little of the copied ability afterwards. My full Semblance probably allows full copying." While looking at me eagerly.

_Really the wrong sister. She may copy my entire power!_

_..._

_Hmm..? Wait if they're so **powerful**…_

_Maybe they'll **die** halfway into the main campaign as motivation!_

_..._

"Yes it truly is great." I say seriously.

"I'm the-" Nero starts off only to be cut off by my gripping her shoulders.

"But as your Big Brother **I will still protect you**." I finish off even more seriously while staring **intensely** into her eyes.

…

..

"Big Brother that hurts a bit…" Nero says while blushing and not looking me in the eyes.

"Ah I'm-" as I let her go,

reality ensures "RAAAWWWRR!" Goes the long forgotten Ursa as I push my sister away from me.

An immense Aura is released, causing a momentary boost. With the sound of a metal, a sword is drawn in a flash in a second boost. And a bear loses it's eye.

All in a single moment.

In the aftermath, a several hundred kilo bear slammed through a few trees while barely slowing down, only stopping after crushing over a dozen trees while the few dozen kilos small boy looked at it coldly.

Beneath the surface though…

_Crap I used **most** of my **remaining MP!**_

You see, the boy only had **150 MP**. **'Soul Demise'** used up **50**, and while **'Basic Aura Skill'** usually used almost nothing, said skill was used to escape when the boy had only around **65 MP left.**

_Still.. I should be able to activate it for a short time frame, but only Aura Skill so I'll have to do this with all my power; no holding back._

A stare-off starts.

With one eye meeting two.

And continues…

…

..

One side a half blinded Ursa Major glaring at its foe in anger.

On the other side, a young boy staring at its foe with determination.

…

..

* * *

><p><em>Yes it's been 1 minute! Plus 2 MP!<em>

_Still why is **this** one waiting?_

_Between this and that Beowolf..._

* * *

><p>While the boy is unaware of it, the Ursa could sense the murderous intent that was briefly released by the boys high level of 'Killing Intent' and 'Intimidate' that was activated while the boy thought of his 'main campaign', in fact, while those skills were at a high enough level to have not gained a single rank… they were still high enough to make a recently heavily wounded higher leveled Grimm suspicious. Also the boy didn't notice while panicking about his lack of MP, but he actually scored both a critical hit, and so depleted around half of the bears HP.<p>

Both sides are recovering, the Grimm from its sudden loss of stamina, and the boy from near complete lack of MP.

Another minute passes…

* * *

><p><em>..<em>

_._

_I don't think I'll get another minute to regain MP so let's do this._

And so the boy walks closer to the bear casually.

_I need to get close enough to kill it with a shot to the vitals._

The boy did not even use observe, and not to spare himself from doubt.

Rather, he just instinctually felt in his blood that his enemy would die with a hit to its vitals.

"If you care for your family." The boy starts calmly while continuing to walk. "Then you shouldn't have come back." while calmly getting just outside of his ten meter range for his longest ranged technique.

**"I will protect her." **Flatly and coldly repeats the boy invoking the feelings that he felt earlier to become like steel.

In response the Ursa loses it's cool and rears up on its hind legs in challenge.

"**RAA**-" And as it starts to roar…

A newly created skill is instinctual activated with an answering boom.

As the boy goes flying towards the bear at full speed.

A loud crash and an explosion of dust is the result.

But underneath the dust the battle is still underway.

The Ursa managed to avoid having it's **heart** skewered in one blow, but lost a **lung** instead.

The boy just barely didn't have enough MP to use **both** **'Aura Burst'** his new movement skill, and **'Power Strike'** the new skill that was simultaneously created.

The **sword is taken out** of the hide of the raging beast… but in exchange a **fierce but half-blind hit **with the force of a canon is given.

The boy** endures **most of the blow, sensing that rolling with the blow would put him too far away to finish off his adversary.

And **strikes back** only to be **completely blocked**.

But it was trap, only being a mere **kick** not the **sword** leading to!

A **second strike** with the sword.

The Ursa managed to endure the **sneak attack**, and **aimed** for another hit!

Which the boy **reacted late** to due to it **not affecting** his sense of danger in the blind dust.

Because the Ursa decided to **aim** for the sword and not the boy.

Leaving the boy disarmed.

And in the moment of stiffness that followed…

The Ursa took a swipe at the **boys own eye**; perhaps coincidentally **creating a matching set of missing orbs** that briefly meet in their sightless empty sockets.

But the boy moves using the attack to plunge an arm downward into the Ursas open chest cavity.

And attempts to **rip out** what he finds with an accompanying ping hidden to the rest of the world.

But the Ursa partially **deflects** the attack by whacking the boy hard while **leaping backwards**.

Meaning only a **portion of guts** was taken out instead.

And despite both being reduced to nearly no HP…

**The Ursa runs away.**

…

..

* * *

><p><em>What. They can run away!?<em>

Is the boys last thought as he goes unconscious.

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p><em>It's cold.<em>

Despite it being a household with nearly ten people.

That was the only thought of an adorable little girl.

_Everyone is so amazing…_

Thinking of her peerless father.

Thinking of her elegant mother.

Thinking of her older sisters who are already starting to manifest their strength.

_Even my single little sister will probably manifest it before me…_

And even thinking about the one person who didn't seem in danger of manifesting a Semblance…

**Was a genius.**

Charlotte appeared to always be partially affected by a Semblance.

But Jaune was **different.**

The only feeling that could be gotten from him was **a feeling of warmth.**

And like a moth to a flame she was drawn to it.

But at the same time…

_If I always do this… he'll hate me._

Was the lonely insecure thought of the little girl.

But he never leaves.

**Never** stops hugging her when she's sad.

**Never** stops entertaining her when she's bored

**Never** stops patting her head with a kind look on his face.

**Never stops sharing his warmth.**

And that is why despite seeing more keenly than any other the changes in Jaune.

Seeing that her dear big brother had even lost some of the feeling of warmth that she associated with his presence.

Unlike her brothers other siblings who stayed away in almost animal caution.

She despite being the most instinctual of the Arc siblings decided that she would treat him the same.

And so she did.

Thus, when she saw him in front of her, missing an eye…

She did not even hesitate.

To **share her own warmth.**

Even as the **cold** returned…

Even as a new feeling of **loss** mounted.

Even as she felt herself **going faint.**

She continued **sharing her warmth.**

In the first full activation of her own **Semblance**; fully copying the effects of **Soul Demise**,

except **without** either **the body or mind of a Gamer** to support her.

To keep her from **fully feeling** the psychological feeling of lost from **burning** a part of **her own Soul** to rejuvenate a physical body.

But that alone would not be enough…

Mere **bodily restoration** alone would not have saved him.

And so she **didn't** just restore his **body.**

Unconsciously, when her brother casually used his own **'Soul** **Demise'**, Nero so wanted to hold onto the transferred warmth that she used her partially activated Semblance to grab ahold of that feeling of warmth, security;** that of life itself**, and that tiny **fragment**, that **small flicker **of her dear **Big Brothers **own **Soul**, was able to **inflame** the piece of her brother that she always** carried in her heart**.

And she used it despite feeling the **endless cold** that she had battled against her whole life come **rushing** back in.

**_I love you._**

As the tender feelings of her own heart **overwhelmed** the feeling of lost completely.

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p>And when Jaune awakens soon after with a fully functioning eye.<p>

When he feels the strength of his Aura…

And when he feels the presence of someone else's Aura inside him.

He thinks.

_Maybe it wasn't the wrong sister after all_

And once again opened his heart to **share him warmth, **the warmth of simple familial love with his little sister once more.

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p>Afterwards many things happen.<p>

Due to having noticed that his sister **overtaxed** herself, they did not go out to **fight** again that week.

Having noticed how much **fighting** had **strained** her he got her to promise him to not go play with the animals for **at least two months**, enough of a feat that he actually increased his reputation with the local Grimm to a lower level in **'friendly'**.

Due to having truly felt for a moment the reason he **needed** to get stronger, he decided to **skip school** to train intensely without sleep for the remaining six days.

Due to having fully **regained the feelings** needed to cook properly, his baking started to succeed even as his cooking and craft skills increased exponentially.

* * *

><p>And so around six days later when Jaune once more landed on a pure white platform void of all life. The empty and silent realm of nothing but whiteness extended out in all directions.<p>

He did so not with his grand plans of fancy cakes, nor any elaborate schemes.

But with one single layered cake made with all his skill, and a heartfelt apology on his lips.

A simple cake that anybody with basic cooking ability could make, which despite being made from homemade ingredients shouldn't have looked different enough from other cakes for Dango to care enough to stop. Words plain enough that Dango shouldn't have refrained from attacking him the moment he saw her.

But stop she did, despite feeling suspicious.

And so the three of them ate the cake together.

And it was delicious.

….

…

..

.

Almost enough for Dango to refrain from kicking Jaunes ass around to a single HP a dozen times afterwards.

But not quite.

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p>I also hope that having things happen this way wasn't too predictable. I tried embedding hints on the skills and using a bit less technical data in order to reflect Jaune being somewhat more at peace with the whole 'video game character' thing. Please tell me how I did. I get the feeling that it is still confusing though.<p>

* * *

><p>Nero has a strong Soul. Not as much so as Jaune, but enough so that using that ability despite lacking either the mind or body of a gamer is enough this one time.<p>

She **fundamentally** is an actor though. Which is **why** more than anyone else she could tell the depth of difference that Jaune was going through.

So that power is not one that she is suited for.

**Scarlet** on the other hand….

Well truly** learning things** require you to feed a bit of yourself into it…

The nature of each individual Semblance matches that of the Soul it helps express.

It is why it is a big deal for Jaune's Semblance to have changed. And why it was so impossible for Jaune to have inherited from an old Semblance.

If someone's Soul changed enough that they gained a new Semblance… by the point it was ready to manifest, all remnants of the old Soul's pattern should be gone.

Still Jaune accomplished a lot here.

* * *

><p>Going by running tally:<p>

* * *

><p>1) Completed the tutorial.<p>

2) Accidentally gained a sister who romantically loves him now.

3) Solidified the crush Now had on him since he forgot about her reputation and the warning and finished the tutorial without doing anything to lower or change the form of her feelings.

4) And stopped expecting new powers out of nowhere which had buoyed himself upwards to thinking he could play it safe.

* * *

><p>Of course on the opposite side he:<p>

* * *

><p>1) Lost the Duel, failing his first quest, and so still has a very low reputation with Dango.<p>

2) May have to worry about a sister in love with him who is physically stronger than him and has partially understood the essence of one of his deepest powers; a power created from the core of his former Semblance, that still had some part in his Soul regardless of not having been inherited at a higher level.

3) Still has a weapon who will do her best to make him into a Hero, with Nero trusting her Big Brother enough to not reveal anything about his change in motivation; with her being the only one who sensed deeply enough to actually be able to tell that Jaune no longer truly wants to be a Hero.

4) And passed the tutorial, meaning that he can pass beyond the first stage of outside of tutorial quests. Like the one where he pissed off a certain large MALE Beowolf (A bunch of them, one ruling each over all zone). And the one where he failed to kill the first in line of Ursa Majors (The little, medium, and large bears). And so he activated two quests for people beyond the tutorials. And left their times to run, having real events happen since it's the real world that they're in rather than just a video game. Not to the level where when he meets the next Beowolf they'll send a tornado after him, or where the next time he meets that Ursa it'll set the entire forest ablaze with its wrath, but unlike in video games, it's not just the next in line of events that react to a change in situation, but rather everyone down the chain as well as beings in other unrelated chains all react. And since Jaune actually managed the harder feat of scaring off rather than killing a quest Ursa… while that helped allow Jaune become a 'friend' to the local Grimm who were under the tyranny of that Ursa (with Jaune wrongly thinking it was primarily due to his convincing Nero to not go Hunt them for a while and consider hunting them less in the future), well… the impression of other even smarter Grimm; those old enough to not easily fall for cheap provocation, those powerful enough to be waiting and watching Humanity closely… well the plans of the Grimm have shifted slightly, though in the largest sense Jaune is still too much of a small fry for the effect to be easily noticeable yet.

5) He's also still banned from the library. Which is bad because of:

6) He still doesn't know whether or not monsters really do drop loot. Since all his luck was used up getting him the rare quest monster to fight, since Jaune was looking for strong foes to enhance his abilities faster on, rather than at the time really caring about loot despite what he said. So his luck really helped him out as he wanted rather than what he thought he wanted. And of course, that lucky crit would have had almost no chance of happening even with a shot to the eye on a monster so many levels of stats higher than him without luck either. This creates as a problem 7:

7) He is still under trained in real combat skills. But he fought powerful enough things that despite not thinking he'll get anymore free skills, he at the same time still has a higher opinion of his own strength than actually exists-the opposite problem of before ironically. His gathering data on how much he could increase in ability gave him the wrong idea on the ease of gaining points; or to put another way, he now puts gaining all stat points at being really easy at lower levels, rather than before where he thought gaining all stat points was really hard. So his diligently working luck, his personal goddess of victory, despite being weakened, is still trying her best to help out Jaune.

8) While it has no time limit, he still did out of pride borrow money from his father. And the rest of his family will nag him about what was important enough for him to have to borrow money and so desperately work on his cooking that he as far his family was able to tell did not sleep at all in 6 days... And since he now has Now with him due to not having enough room to piss off Dango anymore…

9) And has to find a way to keep her with him… Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance.

10) By 'luck' other people who may in the future be able to help Jaune get what he wants may have seen his battle and approved, setting other events into motion.

11) And he lowered his perfect school record, missing out on quest rewards, though a free scholarship all the way through high school could still be paid by his parents…. since Jaune can see the effects on his reputation if he paid for private middle school (as well as the enhanced opportunities), as well as paid for non-mandatory high school at all yet alone tried for an elite private high school… Well guess who will take it upon himself to become a young entrepreneur to make money in the future. And if he goes to someplace for elites while also trying to paradoxically both keep his family close and keep his family at bay… At least a few rich people connected to canon are around. Of course, he could also go to a Hunter Academy; depending on which one he goes to… with differing results.

* * *

><p>So it's still a pretty mixed bag.<p> 


	7. The Hero Awakens Some Monsters

**RWBY **is owned by **Roosterteeth **and **The Gamer** is owned by **Sung San-Young**; not me.

I also do not own **GTA **(**Rockstar** does).

**King Kong** is owned by very complicated groups of people of which **Universal **owns most of the current rights along with the **Cooper estates**, **Time Warner**, and **DDL** owning other parts of the rights, as well as some being within public domain.

**Alice** from Alice in Wonderland was created by **Charles Lutwidge Dodgson  
><strong>

**Attempt Tomorrow**: Thank you very much. I was wondering if people found my story to be emptily wordy and so were just skimming it to see if anything happens and then leaving. I also wonder if all my author's notes are being read or not as well. I have the feeling that people aren't reading them at; and ironically I've taken as much time on writing these as I have the actual chapters.

I ended up PMing to attempt to answer **dragoon109 **instead of writing it here.

Version 1: Mostly Economics. Too little connection to the last chapter.

Version 2: Too much Nero. Ended up with economics not fitting in.

Version 3: Other parts of the tutorial was unfairly marginalized.

Version 4: Too long. Too many topics went into too much detail. Has some time skips now.

I originally wanted this out on Tuesday, but I was hit with the double need to answer questions in a way that actually fit either this note or a PM, and as an even larger loss of time; I had one of my classes change-up when homework was 'suggested' to be done by. So it's due this week and not next week, so I probably won't be able to finish the next chapter for a bit as well.

**Remember: 100 Lien = $1 **otherwise the numbers will seem strange due to lacking context.

* * *

><p><strong>Jaune Arc: The Accidental Hero<strong>

**Chapter 4**

**The Hero Awakens Some Monsters**

**XXX**

* * *

><p>Remnant.<p>

A world so reduced that even its residents call it something less, a normality so great that the original name that this world was called was forgotten. A land once filled with promise, a world of near infinite mana and countless gods both big and small. A land that was once home to hundreds of planetary class elementals, and tens of thousands of continent class spirits. A world whose human population is less than half a billion, who are crammed like sardines into less than a twentieth of the planet.

But Remnant is not empty; rather by any count it should be over populated. The fading of the deities of old, the assimilation of most of its elementals, and the demise of the majority of it's spirits, they and much more can be ascribed to this problem.

A problem known as Grimm.

Over ten billion Grimm of near-human and beyond size exist.

Over a trillion Grimm of the sky and even smaller animal Grimm.

Over twenty trillion aquatic Grimm.

And near uncountable numbers of pest based Grimm.

These Grimm need not eat.

Nor sleep.

Nor do they expel waste; along with a plethora of other activities commonly associated with 'the living.'

Because of that, these monsters who are sometimes thought of as the living dead are able to infest an area in numbers far greater that any other creature on the planet can match.

In this desolate world, a concept which humanity has not once forgotten, despite all odds, (or perhaps because of such odds),has been the concept of a 'Hero'. Someone who despite regularly facing endless risks managed to survive, thrive, and triumph in this world with so-few happy ends that an era of what other worlds would consider 'constant low-intensity warfare' is instead considered 'unprecedented peace'.

The young boy in his bedroom, lounging on a snow-white rabbit bed while wearing full sky-blue sleeping (battle) gear thinking about 'the importance of appreciating what you have', is not one of them.

_I really love my onesie._

Without it I probably would have had to wear some smelly armor that doesn't properly fit me.

Without it I probably would have died in those battles last week.

Without it I probably wouldn't have enough left in me to heal my sister.

That doesn't even take into account that it truly is the best sleepwear either.

But right now I love it for another reason entirely.

"**So long as you are not in combat, Starter Clothing can be repaired at no cost outside of time."**

Meaning **all **the damage that my onesie took was rendered into **nothing ****for free.**

_I __**really **__love my onesie._ I think as I look down at my freshly laundered clothing.

And the repair function isn't the only useful function that I unlocked by finishing the tutorial either.

So as great as free repair is (without learning sewing or needing materials to boot), I got something far better than that from the tutorial.

A better way to strategize for the future; known as 'Modes'.

By default I am **The Gamer** as a Class and **Apprentice Lady-killer** as a Title. My Job puts me as a **Elementary School 4th Year**. (Though why that function is working now but wasn't before I have no idea). I also can see status of those who I observed. (I did it the first time that I visited my sister while she was in the hospital. She made me feel a lot better, despite probably not deserving to feel that way.) But my class now comes with a subclass called 'Mode'. Which by default it set to 'General' which provides a bit of a bonus to everything Gamer related that I do. But I can choose to switch modes, to get other bonuses.

'**Crafter' **mode: enhances both detail and complexity of finished products as well as helps creation of better recipes within the 'Craft' skill. It even shows some possible future recipes that I can 'unlock' by simply increasing my 'craft' skill. Though higher level skills need a specific secondary skill, (and/or production of many of a certain lower leveled recipe to unlock), I still have a valuable source of knowledge even without more research.

'**Research' **mode allows me to set aside 'Funding' and 'Time' to create 'Deadlines' and 'Goals'-basically self-made quests to discover something. The key here is that I'm told the **difficulty of doing something within the allocated timeframe. ** Meaning without spending any time I can actually 'research' how much time it'll take me to complete any objective.

Of course it too (currently) has limits.

I can't (I tried) research how to "Have unlimited HP.", "Create system indestructible objects.", "Fix Remnant to what it once was.", "Kill all Grimm forever.", or the classic; "Find the meaning of life."

Still the main difficulty to that sort of large-scale research appears to be political and economic support; meaning I could solve some so-called 'impossible' problem as long as I have the resources for it.

'**Political' **mode allows me to run for office. I can be elected as 'Hall Monitor', 'Class Representative', and oddly enough 'Mayor'-I think it has something to do with some obscure law that allows Hunters to take command of the city that was worded incorrectly and so still is a law despite it not having been made with that intention or something. It keep tracks of support, funding, relevant news, and other such goodies. It helps my path to power since I can see 'pre-build support' or general groups of people who will support me regardless of extra campaign efforts, something that provides free information for who I should focus my efforts towards in other modes even if I never use its primary function. It would also allow preparation for large-scale events such as war.

'**War' **mode enhances my ability to command and make it easier for me to organize things in a more uniform manner. It can be broken into '**Team' **mode with a 'ambushed' status if I'm interrupted while commanding to fight. So it's like using my breathing technique to regain my MP; high reward high risk. I also need to hire an army or create an army if I want that to be truly useful. But at this scale travel and speed becomes important.

'**Travel' **mode takes my current fastest mode of travel (24" 30,000 Lien (Medium-Low) Quality Road Bicycle) and lets me travel (barring 'sudden large interruption') at my average speed to my destination. Meaning I need money to buy a top quality cross-country bicycle before I go anywhere.

'**Racing' **mode just helps me go faster without straining my transport, and I get some experience for moving from place to place too. So it actually would help increase my 'average' speed for use in travel mode, and of course will be the fastest mode I have to go shorter distances to boot.

Other modes exist (like '**Criminal' **and '**Volunteer' **mode) of course, (and sadly no '**Sandbox'**, '**God'**, '**Admin'**, or '**Debug' **mode exists), but the most notable mode is '**Tycoon' **mode.

And no, it's not just the best mode because I can make money without fighting Grimm, but the best mode because it currently makes the most money for me of anything that I can do.

* * *

><p>1) I can gain loot from any foe I defeat. But the chance of dropping on Grimm below level 15 is extremely, meaning I need to face Grimm powerful enough that even a properly armed member of the army would have some difficulty against them. And even once you get a more normalized loot chance against higher leveled Grimm, (outside of bosses), most Grimm drop crafting materials.<p>

Human opponents would drop better loot, but they are obviously in less supply (in most modes).  
>Still going out to hunt Grimm is obviously the worst until I can comfortably farm Grimm of levels exceeding level 25. But judging from the level of that Ursa Major, (who was obviously some sort of mini-boss, yet was definitely weaker than a normal level 25 Grimm), I would either have to hunt true boss monsters or go to a far more dangerous area (at least a few hours further away from the city) than where I was. Which until I finish upgrading my equipment is something that I will not risk; Grimm mix far more than video game monsters do, so either option is a horribly bad, yet quite predictable idea. That concentrations of Grimm are far more dangerous than you'd expect is one of the main reasons that so many Hunters disappear. So my general geographic information, while helpful, is not a good enough reason to hunt in and of itself. In addition to that, I have reasons other good reasons to not hunt Grimm.<p>

2) Also, I am '**Friendly' **with the local Grimm, thus they won't attack me if/when **I go **out to **gather materials.** So I can **farm herbs** or something with **little risk** of being attacked by Grimm and not be forced into wasting time to kill them every time I want something.

3) Since I am not an **RPG Hero** but **a Gamer protagonist,** I should be learning more abilities.

4) Staying around and thinking is obviously the best way to do this.

If I do so, I will be able to **accumulate more resources**; **physically, mentally, socially,** and **economically** to create a vital margin of safety for later, especially useful for when I'll start requiring high proficiency in multiple high level skills for simultaneous use. Currently I'm in early stage **sandbox mode**, so I should take advantage of it.

Like how in Gangster Steals Cars: San Andros where you could go **conquer **most of the enemy territory early in the game to **make **accomplishing all the missions, (though winning is probably more vague in such a messed up system as 'all games'), later on **really easy** if you wanted to. I'm going to make any story enemy into those **2 or 3 guys** that get **shot down** by **my 'homies' **while armed with their bats while I sit around with a machine-gun as an over armed 'loser' like in that game. (I'm so glad to have such understanding parents let me play mature video games since I was around 5, they even saved up some older ones based on advice from the rest of the family, so that I would have at least some fun while learning valuable things about the mindset needed to take on hordes of Grimm.)

**Specifically: How NOT fun it would be to fight endless hordes of Grimm due to attracting more and more of them. The value of self-control, as well as the meaning of logistics. **

* * *

><p>I also learned that:<p>

Each level of skill with '**Basic'**, '**Intermediate'**, and '**Advanced' **tiers represent completely different levels of application of a skill. And skill usage grows fastest for **The Gamer**, through constant repetition and not extreme battles. Also if you wait until level 100 you can create your own unique style (with semi-customizable bonuses) depending on the level of the skill you reached level 100 in. It goes back down to 75 afterwards, but each unique style comes with its own 'Flow'. Incompatible flows will have increasingly negative effects on me; so I'll have to use that function carefully.

So I can **farm **'Basic' skills, and create a skill based on being a master of '**Basic'**, then create a **skill based on extreme efficiency** for further increased farming efficiency later if I take the time to do this the smart way.

I can save the several(?) times I create incompatible flows for a skill that I truly need more of to boot.

I also have several advantages to using '**Tycoon' **mode:

* * *

><p>1) I<strong> already have a skill I can leverage to create products.<strong> My 'Cooking' skill (at level 37) is my highest skill, and I already can create a wide variety of cakes (though mostly that's because I've unlocked several recipes to that effect).

2) I can already create '**Intermediate Wedding Cake'**, something far beyond '**Basic Cake' **that is the first product in the Cake line of sellable products. (Though it sorta sucks that video game logic applies to me as far as officially selling products go. At least I didn't need to research how to breathe.) I can use this to **rapidly level up** through **Cake products **specifically, or **somewhat more quickly** level up through **other cooked products** in general.

3) As '**Craft' **helps you create things that you explicitly don't know how to create, an increase in my crafting skills beyond a certain level will let me build better items with higher success rates; even if in fields that I have no experience with, which should allow me to prepare for weapon crafting to better arm myself to face the Grimm.

4) I can put things on queue to start creating items, (and gaining experience for doing them), while doing other things in my head as well.

5) I can secure better materials at wholesale prices should I start a business.

6) I can acquire business loans (below a certain threshold) **from the mode itself;** no need to borrow from other people.

Currently I'm in debt due to my 100,000 Lien loan from my father. Outstanding loans start reducing reputation if kept unpaid for long enough (a figure related to loan size, type, and other such factors). If your reputation goes down below certain thresholds (without gaining appropriate levels of infamy to counteract the process) shop owners will charge you higher prices! Of course, the opposite way works, meaning if I increase my reputation, I can get discounts on products as well. As repaying a loan is a respectable accomplishment, I should be able to milk it to receive greater increases in reputation.

**Specifically I have negative 86,210 Lien**; I **borrowed** 100,000 Lien, but only had 500 Lien in my **inventory,** plus my 500 Lien **secret savings**, which combined with the 12,790 Lien left from what I originally borrowed.

7) A company would be a good explanation of '_how did you get money to do X' _later on. It also will cut suspicion towards any casual display of wealth I may need to do as well.

'**Criminal' **mode could also deal with this but it comes with the risk of actually being illegal with various negative consequences associated with it.

* * *

><p>I do other reasons to do this though.<p>

My sister was still a bit weak from attempting to copy my Semblance but she was happy and alert now.

But when I visited her the first time…

* * *

><p>…<p>

..

.

Dull green eyes, void of life stare back at me. With skin so pale that it as to appear dead, and hair that despite being the same shade of gold as it was before, appears to be yellow like disposable straw due to the change in atmosphere. No real body reactions either. No tensing or recognition. Nothing to define the thing in front of me from a badly crafted doll.

…

..

.

_This is __**Nero**__..?_

…

_THIS?!_

..

.

"Observe" I whisper, unable to help myself as I stare at what **should **be my sister intently.

* * *

><p><strong>Name: Nero Arc<strong>

**Gender: Female**

**Class: The Emperor**

**Job: Elementary School 2nd Year**

**Title: Flickering Embers**

**Level: 5**

**Age: 7**

**Next Level: 57.82%**

**STR: (10) 30**

**DEX: (5) 20**

**VIT: (5) 15**

**INT: (2) 5**

**WIS: (1) 4**

**LUK: 15**

**Status: Soul Drained (Medium-High)**

* * *

><p><em>Soul Drained…<em>

_She really is…_

_Because of…_

…

..

"Hey… it's me." I began unable to start with anything but a cliché that I had always found strange, "Because of you I'm doing well. I came to thank you and see how you're doing." I trail off not knowing where I'm going with this.

…

..

.

"Mother was really worried you know." I continue, "But I told her that you would be fine because… you would definitely become the **Emperor **one day." I say more strongly.

…

..

"I not just truly believe that you can do it… But I feel that unlike me… You won't fall off the path to your dreams. No matter what happens, you will continue as a burning flame" I say with conviction, "That is why…" I trail off awkwardly as I run out of steam.

..

.

"Look, I brought cookies!" I shout with forced cheer and smile, "Sneaking it in was… well… errm… actually not that hard I suppose. I mean you wouldn't know it but I have a storage space… so I can carry all the cake and cookies you want. I'll learn how to make them even better…. so… so you better get better soon!" I end loudly but in a confused way.

..

.

"...Bi… Bro…" Faintly I hear a sound.

_!_

Instantly I observe the figure intensely once again. This time I don't even need to whisper to activate the skill.

* * *

><p><strong>Name: Nero Arc<strong>

**Gender: Female**

**Class: The Emperor**

**Job: Elementary School 2nd Year**

**Title: Smouldering Embers**

**Level: 5**

**Age: 7**

**Next Level: 57.82%**

**STR: (15) 30**

**DEX: (8) 20**

**VIT: (7) 15**

**INT: (3) 5**

**WIS: (2) 4**

**LUK: 15**

**Status: Soul Drained (Medium)**

* * *

><p>"That's it Nero. You're doing it." I start to say, "And here is your cookies." I try to say casually as she looks at me with those empty eyes.<p>

"Chomp…. Chomp… Chomp…" As she chews slowly, I can something return to her eyes but still she surprises me greatly when she finished half a cookie then says, "...Warm…" while looking at me.

_Huh?_

_Oh the cookies._

"Yes. My inventory is amazing. It can even keep food fresh! So any cookies and cake I bring will stay fresh forever!" I say slightly giddy that she is starting to feel better.

"...not…. that." She says with difficulty, "...you… warm."

_?_

_What?_

_But I'm not even hugging h-_

_!_

I immediately rush to hug her.

"Sorry about that. I forgot that with how much you move in your sleep, that when you finally wake up you're always cold." I say as I hug her.

_She is actually cold. If this was Lily then I could make jokes about how her current lack of bra, (not that Nero needs a bra yet I mean she's only 7), combined with her current coldness would be almost as bad for boys as my fist when I punch them for staring. Though saying that seems to embarrass even the 'Queen of Pranks' for whatever reason... though she calls me stupid when I wondered why she was embar- _

_Nero!_

_What should I say to her?! _

_I spend more time with her than any other sister… _

_I should __**know **__what to say here!_

…

_.._

_._

_But nothing comes to mind. Did I spen-_

_!_

_In the entirety of my memories of her… did I do more than just hug her and treat her like..._

_...like _

_..like a... cute stuffed animal!_

…

_.._

_._

_I really am a __**failure.**_

_I can't even comfort my sister!_

_No real goals_

_No more dreams_

_No life outside of-_

"Don't." A voice that sounds nearly normal commands me.

_As I look at her eyes that for a moment contain all of her overwhelming passion, (despite lacking her usual volume), I know that she'll be just fine._

"I **choose **to help you, because I wanted to." She began,

"But you couldn't have known it would end like this!" I almost shouted at her from self-recrimination.

"I did." She claimed,

"More than anyone else I know how strong you are. Even without showing signs of manifesting a Semblance, your Soul was strong enough for you to have been the greatest of the Arc siblings."

"I-" as I attempt to interject,

"**Sieglinde** is only confident in **battle**. She **lacks **confidence in **everything else! **It's different from how **I **am similarly confident in battle; but I only avoid other people because I already **know **what I want to do."

"**Rowan** only 'chose' to fight in close-range because it was **expected **of her. She really wants to fight in far range but didn't have the **independence **to say no!"

"**Arthuria** often ignores her own **feelings **because it is not something that a '**Perfect Knight'** would have!"

"**Lily** hides her own insecurities **behind a mask** of pranks, while both **Scarlet **and **Charlotte **are the **same**, only they do it **with books**.

"That-" Even as my mind reels, I try to respond; with what-even I'm not certain.

"No you listen!" Nero interjects strongly again.

"The only reason **Sieglinde **is so good at close range combat...is because her Semblance is similar to her namesakes except **even more defensive!** Without it she would be just be a shy girl who pretends to be introverted while really just being terrible at talking to others."

"**Rowan** used a spear because she didn't want to fight in true close range, but couldn't get any further away without the pressure being too much for her. When her **Semblance **was discovered a year ago, she stopped using a spear because it was expected that she fight with a **hammer **just because of how her Semblance works.

"**Arthuria** just wants to help people, but doesn't have the courage to do so while facing all the hardships of the world."

"**Lily** has no real goal, so she just keeps up with her twin in combat while being the 'fun' sister to create a contrast. Without Arthuria around, Lily wouldn't be even a third of what she is now, and most of what she gained is empty without a reason behind it."

"**Scarlet** pretends she lives in a magical fairytale; even developing a Semblance based on that wish."

"**Charlotte** just truly loved her books but even now when she actually does want to make friends… she can't help but continue to hide her presence; despite having originally been terrible at hiding herself."

"While I…I am the worse. The only reason I know what I want to do is because…

_**fighting is one of the few things that make me feel alive."**_

"I…. don't know what to say." I start after a short blank pause, "But for what it's worth, I'm sorry that I couldn't help you more." I finish while feeling inadequate.

"That is why you're so strong." She starts tenderly, "We all try to spend so much time with you because you don't know what to say, but you don't pretend to either. While at times you may be silly, you always see the best in others. You are the only one who could take our mothers words about 'making friends' and go ahead and do so." says as sister as she smiles fondly at me, "You always try your best to shoulder the burdens of others, even when it's painful. Even when you act like you're unconcerned, you are always thinking of a way to make things better. And even when the solution makes you unhappy, for the sake of the other people involved; you still go through with it. Even when you're hiding information, even when you're lying, you do so to protect other people."

After a short pause Nero continues with, "We all love spending time with you, not only do you make us feel stronger; but because you honestly want everyone to succeed and be happy. You help us become more in our strengths, while also becoming less in our weaknesses." And then she begins to frown, "The only reason you don't have like a dozen girlfriends is that you intentionally keep your distance from non-hunter family girls, and treat girls from Hunter families they're just 'the guys'; and that is once more because you are trying to protect people. So you are the strongest among us, it just isn't easy…" She trails off for a moment and grimaces while my subtitles show that she whispered _'honestly wearing a onesie to fight', "_really isn't easy to see sometimes." she concludes before clearly looking into my eyes waiting for my answer.

_But I…_

_...Am The Gamer_

_...What does that say about me…._

…

_.._

_._

As I look into her shiny eyes I feel that I need to at least tell her a partial truth.

"I just do my best because I was too stupid to do otherwise. I didn't even know that any of my little sisters had activated their Semblances; I still thought it was only my older sisters alone. Had I faced this reality…-" I finally decide to begin with.

"No." She says calmly in response. "Regardless of what happens you would have eventually calmed down and made the type of big decisions that others would be unable to make. You even have developed your Semblance towards magic despite the fact that you thought so little of our, your younger sisters combat strength. You developed a power that would grow over time, that was meant to be used with study and forethought, and not just an **extremely broken power with immense power now**, you have the **confidence **to wait to gain strength and be forced into **learning** **and understanding** many things to use it fully. You did not take the easy route of a simple to understand power that you could wield just as simply as a tool. You created potential itself; something created by your real heroic traits as a person. The ability to plan is your best trait, this is just an extension of that ability. You also have been taking less damage from attacks as your natural Aura started awakening, so you probably made your Semblance evolve that into a greater form. You give off less of a feeling of warmth than before so you probably have a weaker healing ability than what you should have had,; which is probably why despite being weaker than you, I was able to copy such an overwhelming skill in the first place. When we were fighting you also had a far weaker defensive ability than I would expect just from the feeling you used to give off alone. Meaning you **changed yourself **enough by your **own will** and your **own decisions** that you gained this power **against **the nature of your Soul. Something that **none of the rest of us** were able to truly **escape**. So if **you **are not very strong, then that means the **rest of us **are just extremely weak."

…

_I have a really good sister don't I._

_I can't stay depressed here; and have to work harder._

"Thank you." I say in the end. "I only wish-" I say before a thought comes to mind.

_Hmm… wait?_

_If she is Soul Drained…_

_And according to Soul Demise I have a large Soul…_

_... _

"I want to try something, so stay still."

I once more concentrate on the increasingly familiar feeling of loss and cold, but don't transfer the warmth. I feel the warmth held in my hand and attempt to change it to the feeling I felt with Nero at her strongest. I feel a buildup of energy flowing through me.

***ping***

* * *

><p><strong>You cannot learn this skill<strong>

**Required INT 50**

**Required VIT 35**

**Required WIS 25**

* * *

><p><em>Then I'll expand it.<em> I think resolutely having no intention of giving this up so easily.

And so I flood my entire body with all of my Aura. Every last drop while focusing on every bit of energy I ever felt from Nero in the past.

***ping***

* * *

><p><strong>A skill has been created through a special action.<strong>

**Through the power of your actions the skill 'Life Transfer' has been created.**

**Basic Life Transfer (Active) Lv 1 0.00% 100MP**

**The weakest form of a technique that swiftly converts the user's life force and Aura into a transferable form to be passed on to a target. Uses the users Soul for the conversion process.**

**Effect increases with VIT.**

**If all qualifications are met, may choose to upgrade to 'Intermediate Life Transfer' at Level 50.**

**Maximum Targets: 1**

**Currently restores 100 HP of target for 100 HP of user.**

* * *

><p><em>Hmm.. pretty weak for now but it's an instant heal which isn't that bad.<em>

_I guess I need a more clear idea of what a Soul is first?_

_Maybe that technique?_

…

_.._

_._

Energy gathers through the entire body of Jaune Arc. Yet the essence of the flow feels somewhat like Nero Arc. The energy replenishes and dissipates creating a cycle.

***ping***

* * *

><p><strong>A skill has been created through a special action.<strong>

**Through the power of your actions the skill 'Basic Group Ki Breathing' has been created.**

**Basic Group Ki Breathing (Active) Lv 1 0.00% 30 MP**

**The weakest form of a technique that helps use both the user and another's gain enhanced Ki recovery. **

**External Shocks will break Group Ki Breathing and cause you to fall into a state of Ki confusion.**

**Uses the users Soul for the conversion process.**

**Effect increases with INT and level in any Ki Breathing technique.**

**If all qualifications are met, may choose to upgrade to 'Intermediate Group Ki Breathing' at Level 50.**

**Give Additional 5MP/minute to both user and target.**

**Maximum Targets: 1**

* * *

><p><em>...well I guess Ki and Soul isn't the same either.<em>

_.._

_._

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p>With Ki Breathing for recovery I ended up spending a few more hours trying to create a Soul transfer technique.<p>

The closest I came to succeeding was using the over time buff of Soul Demise, with Group Ki Breathing to create a Recovery Technique that lasts 3 minutes, restores 50 HP/minute, and 5MP/minute to all beings in the zone. But since it cost 60MP to use said technique, at the moment it was a failure. I was curious to note that I could use the technique and then use Ki Breathing, but not combine it with Group Ki Breathing.

Towards the end I got frustrated enough, (that after deciding that the problem was I couldn't feel well enough through our clothing), that it would work better if we both stripped to create direct skin contact, a nurse came in and kicked me out before I could even try the technique!

_I guess I'll have to let her recover naturally._

And so I did.

I ending up spending most of the week training cooking to properly apologize to Now; and I naturally smuggling in sweets for her as well.

But the problem here was that I used the word 'Inventory'. So she may figure out what my Semblance really is and propel events forward.

I have several assets in play against that time bomb.

After finishing the tutorial I was the option to gain the levels that I should have gained while trapped at level 7 something which would naturally help in the short-term. But I was told something of even greater worth.

I could decide to convert my extra experience points into a 'Soul Shard' and not gain extra levels; (A special line of quests where you don't gain experience but instead form a Soul Shard. It only appeared because one of my skills could use Soul Shards to increase its effect to implying interesting things about how much of a Sandbox this world truly is...) Or to put another way, I could not just fix Nero up now (judging from how she was SOUL drained), but also accumulate the resources necessary to use this skill on an emergency basis in the future.

Still I had other problems to worry about.

I had to accept Now as my current weapon.

The Now who told me "I understand. You wish to become a Hero, I will help you do so if you will let me." smiling as brightly as the morning sun at me while Dango behind her mimed chopping off certain… parts of my anatomy while also smiling; appropriately invoking the darkness of the deep night in contrast.

I had to accept someone who was _actively trying to propel me into the main scenario._

So I needed a good exc-reason to do something other than 'go off and kill massive numbers of Grimm' that sounded appropriately Heroic.

Yet cakes alone was not enough; birthday cake for orphans wouldn't give enough opportunities to be a 'Hero' to satisfy such a motivated person in the long-term. So as I looked at the screen to input my company name, I decided that it would have to be cookies.

_Why cookies?_

* * *

><p>1) Because <strong>reputation gain<strong> is disproportionately **weighed on volume** at lower levels. Thus selling '**Basic Cookies'**; the highest volume item that I could currently create would greatly enhance my speed at gaining reputation.

This applies even taking my bonus to selling cake into account (due to being overqualified at baking cakes; apparently if you practice a particular skill enough, you can gain 'familiarity' with a recipe and recipe tree to enhance your ability with those specific recipes), as said bonus pales in comparison to the base appeal of cookies.

2) Also, due to the greater time required to create cakes compared to cookies, I would need to hire more labor sooner should I start with cakes.

My plan to stay low-key, to continue being a minor nuisance, and not... well a bigger nuisance(?), as I had no desire to test my luck against dedicated business people, (who are probably max level in both 'Tycoon' and 'Criminal' mode, along with more than a platter of 'Political' and other 'fun'), or the ruthless politicians that I would need to deal with (in order to grow beyond a certain size, in this world ruled by Oligopoly, despite operating under the pretense of being 'free'), should I chose to show off.

3) The market for cookies is larger, more robust, less controlled by Oligopolies, and an easier field to set up a presence in over all.

…

_.._

_._

* * *

><p><em>It has nothing to do with the fact that my mother organizes a ladies night that goes through several thousand cookies alone, (ignoring all other desserts that they consume) each time that they meet and that my mother was happy when I said I would bake her some for the upcoming meeting later this week.<em>

_It has absolutely nothing to do with that at all._

* * *

><p>..<p>

.

4) And even if that wasn't the case, **selling cakes** only works **until** the point that I can no longer **personally create cakes.**

Afterwards I'll need to **hire** a high leveled chef, since **my cake recipe** requires a decently **high level **to make at proper levels of quality, which would vastly increase the **cost of the hired employee beyond what is necessary to hire a cookie baker. ** This **lower my profits **and hinders my **accumulation of resources.** (If I went with buying **lower quality raw materials** to make it easier to make something at the level of my end product, '**Food Critics'** would eventually find out the quality level of my suppliers and **start complaining.** It eventually would lead to **lawsuits**; including with **people** that in **no way shape or form **actually were **harmed by my products**. Even using **countermeasures** like '**Training Manuals'** would only partially reduce that never-ending horde of lawsuits.) Also, **ʻCakeʻ** has more specialty items associated with it; including **ʻAdvanced Wedding Cakeʻ **and that in turn would lead to more **potential social prestige**. Obtaining more **ʻBusiness Connectionsʻ **would allow better rates on supplies, and doing **ʻSpecial Actionsʻ **such as **ʻJoin Gentlemens Clubʻ **which gives you possibility of huge **ʻPrivate Loansʻ** or ʻ**Birthday Cake Giveawayʻ,** for reputation and tax write-offs. The second action also was especially good if it fell in line with the rest of your reputation. But, '_The higher-rank within a good you go, the more people will try to steal your product'_; I would have to worry about **corporate spies **taking away all my money, leaving me broke on the side of the side of the road while my fam-

...

_So mass-producing cookies was better. _

Especially since I can sell **multiple products.**

So I can just hire someone who makes something else later. You only need to share recipes if they are making what I'm making after all, so corporate spies can be dealt with. Just make certain not to talk to them like they're a '**Partner' **since if you do, they sue you later saying that they own part of your company.

Also, since it's a tycoon game, the absolute biggest benefit is something most other people lack in the real world.

* * *

><p>'<em>At lower levels of business revenue, <em>_**The Gamer**_ _will take care of __**all considerations**_ _for __each __**line of business**_ _that you participate in.'_

* * *

><p>This means that as long as I fulfill the conditions I receive the benefits of not having to do:<p>

Any **tax** **planning.**

Any **supply chain management.**

Any **negotiations**.

Or anything else!

Also, despite having **no credit history**, with the power of **The Gamer**, I could borrow more money, up to **10 million **Lien as a '**Micro Business Start Up Loan' **legally, and up to **1 billion** Lien as an '**Organ Sale' (**illegal) loan.

But seeing how that skill almost crippled Nero…

I am NOT going to sell my organs.

Besides, **it's bad business;** eventually someone will figure out **where **I got that start-up money; 'Where did Jaune Arc get the connections to be able to sell organs?', seeing that ruining some far off future plan… well deferring until tomorrow what I could do today is the primary reason that I'm having problems here and now isn't it?

Specifically as long as I have '**below 5 billion Liens** in annual revenue', (the definition of a '**small business'** by the Gamer), I don't need to hire **any **employees for anything except the creation process, meaning I can **avoid **the **corruption **associated with hiring people. Of course, how much of that would **actually be profit would vary**. (I also don't get where that number 5 billion comes from, since that isn't Remnant's definition of a 'small business' at all; it's probably related to some other mode that I haven't studied enough to find out about. Seeing as 'War' mode allows you to conquer enough land (combined with ample development) that I can see the definitions of various things being changeable enough that some seemingly arbitrary number would make sense from the view of The Gamer alone as well. This is especially true should I have as much free time to build up resources as I suspect I do. The abilities I gained are definitely not just that of a 'children's game'. So I probably won't have troubles until I'm a teenager and can play with 'teens'. Of course, I'm taking a gamble with this, but just going by what is best in the shortest term will end up with me being stuck when it truly matters.)

Still I have several choices on the form of my created company.

* * *

><p>1) If I stay the default: Being a '<strong>Sole Proprietorship'<strong> would make me personally liable for everything that goes wrong.

_Which is such a big 'no', that I won't even joke about it._

2)** Partnerships'** require… well actual partners. _Nope_

So my best option is (3) create a '**Limited Liability Company'** to avoid something called '**Double Taxation'**... (well basically it seems that if I made a '**Corporation',** I would be taxed as both a corporation and as myself for some reason, while doing it this way, I only have to be taxed once. Well it probably is more complex than that. But I don't want to sell stock on the open market so the other options of being a Corporation seem almost useless to my current situation.)

* * *

><p>Candidates for later expansion are:<p>

* * *

><p>1) <em>Weapon Production:<em>

High grade consumer orientated guns, already cost 200 to 300 thousand Liens, but even Mid-class Hunter grade specialty weapons cost at least twice that; the only reason actual Hunters can afford those weapons is the giant subsidy that Hunters can legally apply for, (but seeing as how said discounts actually decreases the reputation of the one using it… Well it may seem 'cheap', but by making the weapon creators dislike you, when you actually want to buy high-class and above weaponry, weapons only buyable through custom order… well I'm not so certain that taking discounts is a smart idea at all; especially since those high-class and above gear is not covered under the subsidy), which many Hunters use in exchange for taking many missions. Well it is obviously a method of control; one that was important I be free of in the event that the boards were one of the antagonistic factions in this story.

That doesn't even take into account resupply costs. Average 'Combat Quality Dust' costs about 5,000 to 10,000L an ounce in small containers, and even with bulk discounts you still would blow through more than the average household makes in a single year in a single long battle. (I won't even get into what top class Dust can cost or do. Unless I suddenly gain a skill to create Dust, the only way I'm using it as a primary weapon is if I start dating a supplier of the stuff.)

More common 'Industrial Quality Dust' is…. not compatible with higher grade dust weapons at all. Though skilled enough crafters can get around that… I mean uncle-nevermind.

Weapon grade crystals cost… well there's a reason that Signal is the most popular primary level Hunter Training School in Vale; hint: they give you free materials to create a weapon as your second year project.

Smart of them to do it in the second year; keeps people from taking what basically amounts to free money and running. Difficult to run away when the authorities had a year to get familiar with you. Especially with the relation that said school has to the military. Since it's opening 67 years ago, (a few years after Beacon which officially opened right after The War (it was once a military academy so the 'official' opening date is nearly meaningless)), not a single Arc has entered Signal, and quite a few just went on to take the 'Hunter Aptitude Tests' and not go to Beacon as well.

2) _Other Desserts:_

Gain a reputation for the stuff. It makes cross-advertising very valuable. But it may be in enough of the same category to partially count towards sales or something similar. I'll have to ask Now about that sometimes.

3) _Cosmetics:_

A large and stable market, I can acquire more materials, (without being eaten), as long as they are reasonably local due to my reputation to boot.

4) _Clothing:_

Though only low margin types. I have been told I have no eye for fashion; not true, I just was focused on becoming a Hero so I had didn't really care what I was wearing as long as it fulfilled the basic needs of being 'cool when I'm hot, and warm when I'm cold.', as little, well littler me was wont of chanting. It's really amazing how big a difference a few years can make, I mean just 3 years ago-Wait… my stats… Is Nero SMARTER than I was when I was her age? But that means… She was just…-NOPE

Hunter Class clothing is insanely high margin; but it is also almost completely dominated by the Walter family. "Save money, Live more." (Though if you're off to fight heavyweights like Goliaths you go completely custom; unless you want to "Save money, Die not in debt.")

5) _Shoes:_

More towards comfort than fashion again I'm afraid. Still I can also do Hunter class combat shoes eventually if I'm not mistaken. The competition is more intense what with Martini in Mistral with 'Sandals', Choo in Atlas with 'Combat-ready Heels, Bags, and now for a limited time-' did I mention that having 7 sisters is a bad thing? And who am I talking to anyway? I'm NOT going insane; (I can do that after I'm dead thank you very much), I need to be around at least until my sisters have grandchildren that I have to watch…

* * *

><p>…<p>

..

.

Anyway, as for a name, '**AAAAAA' **would be funny, but it probably would kill off sales unlike in a video game, so no.

'**Arc Inc.'**? I question at my screen.

* * *

><p><strong>Name is already taken. Please check your spelling and try again.<strong>

* * *

><p>'<strong>Arc Company'<strong>. I state again.

* * *

><p><strong>Name is already taken. Please check your spelling and try again.<strong>

* * *

><p>…..<em>what the...<em>

'**Arc Bark'** I say in annoyance.

* * *

><p><strong>Name is already taken. Please check your spelling and try again.<strong>

* * *

><p>…<p>

..

_.Seriously?_

_..And how is my speaking 'spelling' anything anyway?_

.

'**Arcsome'**? I say more hesitantly to the screen.

* * *

><p><strong>Are you certain you want to use the name 'Arcsome'? <strong>

* * *

><p>"No I changed my mind." <em>That name would get old fast...<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Please choose a name for your new company.<strong>

* * *

><p>'<strong>Jaune Arc Industries'<strong> is good enough. _I suppose that works the best._

* * *

><p><strong>Are you certain you want to use the name 'Jaune Arc Industries Is Good Enough'? <strong>

* * *

><p><em>What.<em>

..

.

"No." I quickly command at the screen. "Use, '**Jaune Arc Industries' **instead." I say more slowly.

* * *

><p><strong>Are you certain you want to use the name 'Jaune Arc Industries Instead'? <strong>

* * *

><p>…<p>

..

.

_This AI sucks._

…

..

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p>Eventually (through truly Hero leveled willpower) I managed to reach the end of the process.<p>

_It 'only' took 2 hours too._

_Just 1 more step._

* * *

><p><strong>Where do you wish to start your company?<strong>

**Depending on where you start your company a wide variety of Geographical Bonuses may or may not apply! Special Personal Bonuses available if you chose a starting location based on your own values and background. Choose wisely and someday you may become the greatest businessperson on the planet!**

* * *

><p><em>Seems simple enough.<em>

"Alright let's do this." I say happily at the screen.

* * *

><p><strong>1) Vytal (Continent)<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>A) Vale (Kingdom)<strong>

**I) Vale (Region)**

**a) Vale (Large City)**

**b) Valley (Medium City)**

**c) Glen (Small City)**

**d)Basin (Large Town)**

**e) Tarn (Medium Town)**

**f) [921 more results]**

**II) [open for 15 more regions]**

**a) [open for 4287 more results]**

* * *

><p><strong>B) Vacuo (Kingdom)<strong>

**I) Vacuo (Region)**

**a) Vacuo (City)**

**b) [629 more results]**

**Subsidy Kingdoms to Vacuo**

**II) [Open for 12 more regions]**

**a) [open for 5206 more results]**

* * *

><p><strong>2) Mantle (Continent)<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>A) Altas (Kingdom)<strong>

**I) Atlas (Region)**

**a) Atlas (City)**

**b) [403 more results]**

**II) [open for 28 more regions]**

**a) [open for 5302 more results]**

* * *

><p><strong>3) <strong>**Mistral (Continent)**

* * *

><p><strong>A) Mistral (Kingdom)<strong>

**I) Mistral (Region)**

**a) Mistral (City)**

**b) [307 more results]**

**II) [open for 6 more regions]**

**a) [open for 4103 more results]**

* * *

><p><strong>4) Other [open for 4 more results]<strong>

..

.

_What._

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p>Apparently:<p>

* * *

><p>1) It costs more to start a LLC in Vale (city) than it does anywhere else in the Kingdom of <strong>Vale<strong>.

2) But it costs more to start a LLC in Atlas (city) than any other city. But, **Atlas** (in order to attract 'high quality investors willing to make long-term investments'-i.e. More super-rich people willing to freeze their balls or… whatever it was that girls had) offers the most tax breaks if you start in that area.

3) But, **Vacuo** apparently has the most cheap legal labor

Since all the Protectorates (or as **The Gamer** calls them, Subsidy Kingdoms) are technically 'independent', (which is less and less true with the increased power of the Grimm in recent times), with the 'excess' labor needing to go somewhere. It is one of the places where racial relations are the best, (so those dozens of little Faunus 'rights' groups that plague the rest of the world are reasonably well-behaved in the area), or rather most of those outside of the main Kingdom are poor so the only way of survival was to tolerate each other . (Though I sometimes wonder about my family; we are old enough to have some of the original Faunus blood (rather than the diluted blood that everyone else has), so we could have more 'real' Faunus blood than some of those people; the animal-like mutations actually didn't happen in the earliest generations after all.))

4) While, **Mistral** has the highest level average for their citizens, which reduces the effects of corruption and crime.

* * *

><p>But:<p>

* * *

><p>1) Both <strong>Mistral<strong> and **Atlas** has a few very powerful families that control a good deal of the economy, meaning getting any cut of the action will require me to dive deep and fast.

2) **Vacuo** is dominated by extremely complex politics, meaning I need to upgrade my ability to lie significantly (no political connections to make up for any mistake I make); as well as absorb a few dozen books on history and law before even thinking of opening a real business in the area.

3) And **Vytal** already has a great deal of Arc family interests; meaning I may end up associated with the family legacy if I stay here.

…

..

_.yeah… I'm going to be here for a while aren't I?_

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p>"So… what now?" *chew chew* Asks Jaune with blank eyes.<p>

At least these cookies are good.

'_I'm going to sell cookies first, so I should at least practice making commercial quality items.'_

"Best decision I made yet." I say as I attempt to grin. "Hmm… what about waffles? I like waffles. Waffles are amazing!" Feeling a bit aimless Jaune decides to ponder seriously on-

"GAH!" I slap my own checks. "I must stay on track. I will stay on track. I am on track!" I shout with increasing volume to the empty space in front of me that I can almost **see **the (currently closed) pop-up window occupying.

_While it's surprising that so many places large enough to start a business HQ exists, If I start outside of the Kingdoms it more politics will get involved as a whole…_

_With that as I base, I'll just ignore anything outside of the Kingdoms._

_Within the Kingdoms though..._

_While I couldn't look over everything in the last few days (even if I hadn't been too busy preparing for Ladies Night) , I at least saw enough to see that hiring people in one of the 4 main cities is a bad idea if I plan on remaining small. _

_So one of the smaller cities is probably better. They still allow hiring of people semi-anonymously and still have decent 'Public Order' scores and everything… I mean… seeing as I have the option to actually buy up individual villages to make worker camps it may be a worthwhile invest-_

_NO!_

_Don't make it more complex than you have to Jaune._

_**Kingdom. Small City. Good workers. Safety.**_

_Can affect area when company gets bigger._

_But not so much effect that I get lots of politics._

_No other big companies. _

_Just __**The Gamer**_ _and I._

_So:_

* * *

><p><em>1) Small City (big means pre-established power and little control)<em>

_2) Kingdom (Less hassles with trade and expansion on top of safety)_

_3) Someplace with skilled workers._

_4) Someplace that is (reasonably) safe._

_5) Someplace that is easy to operate in._

_6) And has decent infrastructure-since I do want to expand even if I'm being low-key. _

* * *

><p>…<p>

_But the biggest problem to accomplishing any of this is..._

_**I have no money**_

_While my mother provided materials for the upcoming Ladies Night, (and enough extra that I made some specials for everyone afterwards), I still am not making a profit from it either. Since it became a quest, I am getting experience points for it though, but that doesn't change my lack of money at all._

…

…

_Gah…_

_.._

_._

"Business Mode" I whisper to stare at my nemesis once more.

* * *

><p><strong>You are already in the process of creating a business. Do you wish to go to the step of the process you were last in?<strong>

* * *

><p>….<p>

…_My options are so limited_

..

._Frustrating..._

"I really wish I had more money." I mourn at the source of all evil.

* * *

><p><strong>Do you want to look at alternate sources of in world financing?<strong>

* * *

><p><em>I already know about organ selling and everything else.<em>

"No thank you." I say to the screen.

* * *

><p><strong>Do you want to look at alternate sources of Gamer specific financing?<strong>

* * *

><p><em>What<em>

_They can-?_

"Smack" After I facepalm. "Yes please." I politely request at the possible solution to my problems.

* * *

><p><strong>The qualities needed to form a great company are many. From idea to execution a long and drawn out process awaits. In order to create a thriving business you need numerous repeat customers. In order to acquire said customers you need both a worthy product to produce and a well positioned location to sell your product. One of the largest constraints placed upon The Gamer in going through these steps is lack of financial resources. Alternate sources of financing are available to The Gamer to order to give shape to their dreams!<strong>

…

**..**

**.**

**Please choose an alternate source of financing.**

**...**

**Soul**

**Company**

**Services**

**...**

* * *

><p><em>...Soul?<em>

_NOPENOPENOPENOPE_

…

_.._

_._

_Hmm then probably services is best._

"Services." I state still in a good mood.

* * *

><p><strong>As a businessperson you have the opportunity to take various business related quests on your path to becoming the greatest businessperson on the planet! Choosing 'services' allows you to borrow money today in exchange for doing business related quests tomorrow! Depending on the amount of money that you borrow, you will have to do varying amounts of quests without compensation.<strong>

…

**..**

**.**

**Please choose the type of quests you want to do for repayment. Choose carefully and plan accordingly and you will quickly pay off your debt towards becoming the greatest businessperson on the planet!**

**.**

**Social**

**Economic**

**Military**

.

**In order to choose what type of quest based compensation you wish to pay, various examples have been prepared. Would you like to see them?**

* * *

><p><em>Is this going to be like choosing a location?<em> I wonder with sudden inexplicable terror.

…_._

…

_.._

_._

_Can't be helped._ I gather my resolve.

"Show me the examples." I challenge the screen.

* * *

><p><strong>Beginner: Missions of low difficulty for The Gamer.<strong>

**Can be accomplished within a few months.**

**Time limit: 1 year.**

* * *

><p><strong>Can borrow 50 Million Lien in exchange for doing one of these quests.<strong>

**Social: Become 'Friendly' with a close rival companies boss.**

**Economic: Open 5 more stores to personally distribute your product.**

**Military: Force a close rival company to temporarily shut down for economic reasons.**

* * *

><p><strong>Intermediate: Missions of some difficulty for The Gamer.<strong>

**Can be accomplished within several months.**

**Time limit: 2 years.**

* * *

><p><strong>Can borrow 500 Million Lien in exchange for doing one of these quests.<strong>

**Social: Become a 'Good Friend' with a close rival companies boss.**

**Economic: Open 20 more stores to personally distribute your product.**

**Military: Force a close rival company to shut down due to bankruptcy.**

* * *

><p><strong>Advanced: Missions of great difficulty for The Gamer<strong>

**Can be accomplished within a few years.**

**Time limit: 5 years.**

* * *

><p><strong>Can borrow 5 Billion Lien in exchange for doing one of these quests.<strong>

**Social: Marry a close rival companies bosses child, while having said child as a 'Crush' to obtain a 'Highly Functional' arranged marriage.**

**Economic: Open 100 more stores to personally distribute your product.**

**Military: Force a close rival companies boss into personally owing you enough money that you are able to force them into sell their company to you and give you a child of your choice, in exchange for debt forgiveness. **

* * *

><p>…<p>

_.._

_._

_Not going to think about it…_

_Just going to think about the logistics…_

…

_.._

"Suu…" I breath in.

…

..

.

"Haa..." I breath out.

_Nothing says you can't do multiple with the same company. But the 'more' is in place to prevent multiple counting of the same stores. But does that mean you can close stores between missions and then reopen them? _

_Also what does 'Close' mean in this?_

"What does 'Close' mean in these examples?" I ask the screen.

* * *

><p>'<strong>Close' in this example is a term that refers to other businesses within the same size category. Categories include 'Micro', 'Small', 'Medium', 'Large', 'Very Large', 'Huge', and 'Macro'. Should The Gamer borrow money at their current level of business, they will be within the 'Micro' category.<strong>

* * *

><p><em>So I should keep my business just below a new range before borrowing money. That will be helpful in the future.<em>

_Hmm.._

_At first it seems that the advanced quests requires too much change in the world early on to be a good idea. But if you don't need to carry it out until the end…_

"What are the penalties for failing."

* * *

><p><strong>The penalties of failing these quests are:<strong>

**Full repayment of the loan with interest compounded monthly at double the market rate.**

**Loss of reputation with The Gamer, locking in various functions varying on the degree of failure.**

**Normal losses when a loan is not paid.**

* * *

><p><em>And no. The lowest quests don't give you much money for what it's asking you to do. While the highest one is a bad idea with this kind of odds. Intermediate may work though. But that's only if you get this particular quest...<em>

…

_Still.._

"Go back to the selection." I say, "Company." I say even before the screen finishes flickering.

* * *

><p><strong>As a businessperson you have the opportunity to sell stakes in your company in various ways on your path to becoming the greatest businessperson on the planet! Choosing 'company' allows you to borrow money today in exchange for doing selling part of your future income tomorrow! Depending on the amount of money that you borrow, you will have to sell varying amounts of your company.<strong>

…

**..**

**.**

**Please choose the level of stock that you wish to sell. Choose carefully and plan accordingly and you will quickly rise towards becoming the greatest businessperson on the planet!**

…

**..**

**.**

**In order to choose what level of ownership that you wish to sell, various examples have been prepared. Would you like to see them?**

* * *

><p>"Yes."<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Minor Shareholder of The Gamer Cleaning Services: The Gamer sells a small share of their company.<strong>

**5% of the company is sold valued based on the current relevant skills of The Gamer.**

**Max 5 year loan before paradox kicks in.**

**Base: 100 Million Lien Modified by 1.5 for having a level 20 'Cleaning' Skill.**

* * *

><p><strong>Major Shareholder of The Gamer Mining Company: The Gamer sells a large share of their company.<strong>

**15% of the company is sold valued based on the current relevant skills of The Gamer.**

**Max 2 year loan before paradox kicks in.**

**Base: 1.5 Billion Lien Modified by 3 for having a level 60 'Mining' Skill, level 50 'Cleaning' Skill, level 40 'Driving' Skill, and 'Elemental Affinity Earth: 10.'**

* * *

><p><strong>Co-owner of The Gamer Agricultural Company: The Gamer sells a majority interest of their company.<strong>

**Until shares are brought below 50% control of the company direction will be lost.**

**51% of the company is sold valued based on the current relevant skills of The Gamer.**

**Max 1 year loan before paradox kicks in.**

**Base: 30 Billion Lien Modified by 2 for having a level 70 'Farming' Skill, level 60 'Kill Pests' Skill, level 50 'Driving' Skill, level 40 'Sense Weather' Skill, level 30 'Heal' Skill, and 'Elemental Affinity Earth: 30.'**

* * *

><p><em>Hmm.. I see.<em>

_Higher base requirements to take out loans; which means less of a modifier for having higher leveled skills._

_And if you train your skills higher you can take out better loans too._

_But larger loans becomes more and more strange to the world itself and so needs to be repaid sooner. Even more high risk versus high reward then._

_But the most interesting part is about how you can gain Elemental Affinities._

_If Earth exists… then probably at least the classical four of Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water exist._

_Then again… the Five Eastern Elements are… and Shamanism and it's talk about spirits in every-_

_NOPE_

…

_Earth can make a farming division to make homemade cookie dough. Chickens for eggs, Wheat for flour would be good._

_Earth also helps mining for Salt and Sugar but I may well have to continue buying for the rest._

_Fire can help with the cooking process. It should be able to further enhance the precision of my cooking, creating better cookies; and at the same time it would allow me to rank up dual skills!_

_Fire also helps with keeping the farm at the proper temperature as well. Even if I rent/lease cheaper land, I should be able to create a Greenhouse reasonably cheaply if I use it._

_Wind can help with making things grow. Since animals grow bigger in places that have more air._

_Wind also helps with maintaining a constant air flow. Even if the land I use has chaotic winds, I should be able to keep my investment safe if I have this._

_Water can help everywhere. It not only helps things grow, but it also is needed to mine as well. It can should have some power over the chemical reactions to create things. If water moved as I wanted it to, I would be able to create some amazing cookies._

_And that's just off the top of my head, I could probably figure out more things if I take the time to think about it. The possible cookies I could make, are endless!_

"Haa… It's too bad I don't have a 'Cookie Elemental'." I say wistfully.

* * *

><p><strong>Do you want to buy a hint to finding a 'Cookie Elemental'?<strong>

**Warning: As a 'Cookie Elemental' is a level 75 'Intermediate Summon Elemental Skill' technique, the benefit of obtaining this technique will be minimal until The Gamer possesses at least a level 75 'Intermediate Summon Elemental Skill'.**

**Do you still wish to proceed?**

* * *

><p><em>...What<em>

_... _

_.._

_._

_Wait a second… I can use this to find out whether a skill exists or not._

_.._

_WAIT…_

_If this is accurate…_

"Where do you get information 'Geographic Information' from?"

* * *

><p><strong>The type of information filed under 'Geographic' is obtained by The Gamer ability communicating with the knowledge of the planet. So long as it exists in this world, The Gamer is able to obtain information on it.<strong>

**Would you like to buy more in-depth information on a particular area?**

* * *

><p>"Mu ha ha ha." I attempt to laugh in the most stereotypically evil way that I can, "I can repay it."<p>

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p><em>That maybe wasn't as good an idea as I thought it would be.<em>

The plan was simple

* * *

><p>1) Use 'free' (other than the large amounts of time needed to study the screens and figure out the best way to take advantage of it) Geographic Information to undiscovered natural resources<p>

2) Buy the land for the cheaper price that it's currently listed at.

3)'Discover' the resources in the course of doing business.

4) Mine the resources.

5) Sell the resources.

6) Repay the long-term loan.

7) Profit

8) Be in a strong enough position to directly compete with the end bosses of the economic modes.

…

But I realized (when looking at Geographic Information with a more discerning eye later), that with only the free Geographic information, you only knew if an area had large amounts of natural resources, but not where or what said resources were composed of. Meaning that the best way to make use of the information was taking the loan to buy someplace so small that you could 'tell' where what you want is hiding. But not knowing the actual resource you would get for your troubles made estimating value difficult. And actually getting a mine approved crippled the plan, as places with less stringent standards tended towards either extremely unsafe and/or extremely unstable. In order to properly run a mine in such a place, I would need serious firepower.

So I would need to:

a) Lease some **Atlesian Knight-45; **the civilian version of an already weak robot (regardless of how the robots were supposed to be amazing machines that "works every time." Since **Paladins** of any level were only available to those of exemplary character, unquestionable valor, blahblah*bribe-us-more-money*blahblah.)

b) Hire **mercenaries**.

c)** Build **my **own robots.**

d)** Go without.**

Or:

a) Get on **Atlas's list**. The less said about their military the better.

b) Pay **unstable amounts,** (as for a large enough reward mercenaries will hold your stuff hostage), to a force of variable effectiveness, and of questionable loyalty.

**Level up crafting **and other skills related skills **like mad before I even get to start a business.**

**Risk losing my entire investment** to some random Dick with a gun, or even a little girl Jane with a stick if they're training to become a Hunter; a pretty stupid decision even with limited liability.

If I can't use most of the money that I acquire for the actual business, the risk of ruin is…

…

..

I could go light if I stripmined, but the consequences to that would likely mean surrendering another area to the Grimm. I also can't see my future elementals as being happy to help someone mine if they do it in strip mining style either. So it's bad in anything but the shortest term for me to do that. If I remember the old tales, most of Earth and Water were associated with female chaos deities, while Wind and Fire were associated with male order deities… or was that the minority version of that belief?

…

..

.

"I still have ways and options to use this though." I decide to use my time more wisely while noting that I should look it up later.

I can still buy an area with resources for cheap, just not for a full scale mining operation.

If I find someplace workable for cookie production, produce cookies in it for a few years, then right as I'm expanding the property deeper underground I can start 'discovering' new natural resources, and be able to mine some of it naturally, maybe I can even use it as an excuse to pay the employees a bit more for the holidays or something. (It may make some headlines if my cookie company grows enough, "Little Boy Blue Revitalizes Small Town." but I will make it worth it.)

And it's not all a loss, I can still find out existing skills to use later on, that-

"Beep beep beep" as my limited edition Sugareos alarm clock begins to ring I immediately stop thinking.

"Time to go." I note to myself as I close all the windows I had up for planning purposes.

And then I leave my room for my daily visits.

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p>…<p>

..

.

"As fascinating as the story behind this probably is," I begin quirking an eye towards the situation in front of me, "Could one of you please explain why you are both covered in whipped cream?"

"AH! it's-" bounces one voice at me.

"She start-" Another voice accuses looking at me while pointing at the first voice.

"'COUGH COUGH' Let's hear your story side first Now." I decide to ask the more quiet one for a summary.

While ignoring a faint 'muuu' from Nero, I smile at Now encouraging her to speak.

"Well, we noticed that you were working very hard…" starts Now, "So Nero and I both wanted you to have your own cake without having to bake it yourself. It… just didn't end up as we wanted it to."

"I see." I nod my head at her. "Do you have anything to add Nero?" before further prompting Nero who seems almost like she's only wearing whipped cream.

_In fact…. I think that may actually be all that she has on_, I think while seeing a hint of red in my peripheral vision discarded in the corner of the room.

"Art is all about presentation. So in the interest of art I saw it would be far better if I dressed up the cake." Nero starts eloquently, "I-"

Seeing a long speech coming up I interject.

"You decided to whip cream up Now while at the same time in order for me now to get too dirty ideas have her keep on her clothing after stripping completely yourself and making full 'whip cream clothes' for yourself didn't you?" I summarize what I feel must have happened.

"Thats not!-" Nero starts with.

"The truth." I answer for her, "Well we could play this where I ask 'Then why exactly do you have enough whipped cream on your chest to fill up a bowling ball?' and go back and forth, but I think instead I'll end this simply." as I take a slight pause for effect Nero looks at me nervously,

"If I were to take this hand here" as I wave my right hand at her, "and reach for your sides there" as I move walk closer to Nero while keeping my hands at the height of her waist as Nero slowly backs away with a 'wait', "will I find anything that even remotely resembles underwear?" I seriously ask as my hands are about to touch Neros skin, with she freezing with her eyes closed.

Then I pat her on her head.

"Fuah!?" as she makes a strange noise,

"Be careful next time alright." I smile at her.

In the background I think I vaguely hear something which more accurately appears in my subtitles 'That looks like it feels nice' coming from Now which I ignore.

"Anyway, after you both go take a bath-without fighting, and change clothes you can help me clean up the rest of this, ok?" I calmly sucker punch the two of them once they relaxed and ignore their following exclamations of surprise and dismay and continue smiling while refusing to listen to anything else that they say until they run out of steam (around fifteen minutes later) and agree to my demand.

"Well, time to clean up I guess, once again it's too bad no general clean skill-" I start to say to myself before recalling, "Wait… that _menu from earlier_… doesn't that mean a cleaning skill does exist? Maybe this has to do with intent? Not just 'clean' to do something else, but 'clean' for the sake of cleaning?" I hypothesis and test out said hypothesis to a conclusion feeling very sciencey.

And five minutes later as I hear a ***ping* **I think,

_So it really was intent. But other skills seem to ignore intent and are just created. Why could this be? Perhaps system created skills are special in that way? Or maybe...already named skills all apply to skills that really do exist, rather than just finding skills that exist for The Gamer? Well I suppose it doesn't matter. I'm still probably years away from doing research to that level._

_Still this skill appear to be based on the same concept as washing dishes, but apply a general bonus towards all cleaning activities, which is extremely vague. I probably have to level this up before I see anything resembling stats, the same way I did with washing dishing. Amusingly I was able to gain another 3 points in DEX , 2 in VIT, and 1 in STR from all the dishwashing I've been doing. And since I cooked the whole way using Aura and my breathing technique to enhance the amount of practice I could do..._

_Status I think to myself_

* * *

><p><strong>Name: Jaune Arc<strong>

**Gender: Male**

**Class: The Gamer**

**Sub-Class: Tycoon Mode**

**Job: Elementary School 4nd Year**

**Age: 9**

**Level: 7**

**Next Level: 0.00% [Banked Experience:839.21%]**

**Current Soul Shard Quality: 1 Upper-Basic, 1 Mid-Basic, 2 Low-Basic**

**Next level Soul Shard Quality: 1 Low-Intermediate**

**Obtain at first time discount at: 1000.00%**

**HP: 543.8 (250+168+125.8) **

**MP: 402 (150+252)**

**STR: 16.8 (12+4.8)**

**VIT: 16.8 (12+4.8)**

**DEX: 15.4 (11+4.4)**

**INT: 25.2 (18+7.2)**

**WIS: 15.4 (11+4.4)**

**LUK: 77 (55+22)**

**Points: 0**

**Lien: 0**

* * *

><p><em>At level 16 'Basic Aura Skill' gives me 20% to all stats unaided and 40% to all stats with the special effect of my Soul.<em>

_While at level 10 in my breathing technique, I gained 19MP/minute instead of 10; almost double!_

_Similarly, not only can my levels be gained now, but when I hit enough experience to have naturally hit level 10 (had I not been saving exp.), I naturally gained an unlocking of the effect where my stats increases my HP and MP as well._

_10 HP per VIT and 10 MP per INT point apparently. Oddly enough, WIS is still not giving me any MP; it probably starts affecting me at a higher level of effect. Like maybe greater than 20 or 25. That sounds reasonable I think._

_Even better is the fact that the special effect of increasing HP actually works with my enhanced passive stats!_

_Meaning I get not 15(150*.1) +60(12*5) equalling a total of 75 extra HP, but 41.8(418*.1)+ 84(16.8*5) equalling 125.8 extra HP instead._

_So it appears that putting I increase in ability based on how much I strain my current limits, rather than just through repetition alone. Perhaps if I use weights when I cook…._

***ping***

* * *

><p><strong>Due to your habit of making intelligent decisions, you gained 2 WIS.<strong>

* * *

><p>"How nice." I smile while continuing to clean while thinking.<p>

_Still… why does it not have any status for me but it does for things I observe..._

When Nero and Now come back in another twenty minutes they find an almost spotless room.

"Eh!?" Twin voices ring out.

"Hmm?" I question, "Ah.. since the two of you were taking a while I decided to just do it. (I still need to cook after all.)" I say convincingly, muttering the second part under my breath as I hear what I assume to be my lying skill gain a rank.

"Oh, you did not have to Mas-Jaune." Now almost called me Master which I stopped her from continuing to use due to all the horrifying misunderstandings that could happen to me should she continue to use that, while Nero just blushes and mumbles something under her breath that I don't even bother reading.

Looking at their embarrassed figure, I see ordinary girls, rather than monsters that would probably still crush me in a serious fight even with my improvements, and I think…

_They can probably do that._

Hmm.. why are they fidgeting?

"...Big Brother?" Nero hesitantly asks.

"Yes Nero?" I question her tilting my head slightly.

"Why do you have those weights?" Nero asks with a slightly embarrassed blush.

"Hmm? I thought you would be used to it by now. I did wear my Onesie to battle after all." I cheerfully reply.

"But..! You really love that Onesie so…" Nero starts with before I interrupt her.

"But wearing weights to train while cooking isn't any weirder than fighting Grimm in a onesie now is it?" I finish for her.

"...I guess not?" Nero conditionally agrees, "It just doesn't really seem your style I suppose is the right way to put it?" Nero ventures out slowly putting voice to her unease.

"Ah. Since my Semblance does so well in the magic department, I decided to balance things out by doing some physical training. There nice and Jauneical right?" as I attempt to regulate the mood with a bad pun taped on to the end.

_Fall for it._ I chant in my head as I smile at her confidently.

"Ah.. I suppose that makes sense." says Nero as her voice slowly gets stronger, "Sorry for making a big deal of it." she ends with her usual cheer.

While nodding towards Now, I decide to finish this off once and for all, "Do you still think I'm weird Now?"

"NO!.. I mean I do not think that is the case." says a flustered Now, "I was just startled by the sudden change in your apparel. I apologize for my unintended rudeness." continues Now with an apologetic bow.

"Still if the two of you really want to help me," I say with returning to our former subject with a slight grin, "Then you can help me pass out the cookies on Ladies Night." _It's keep me away from those cheek pinchers too._

…

_.._

_._

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p>A high-pitched cry.<p>

A groan of pain.

A sound of horrible laughter.

And an aura too malevolent to be human.

Is it the Grimm; monsters of the darkness eternal?

Is it The End; apocalypse of unprecedented proportions?

No it is even worse.

"So cute!~" Screeches something that could be mistaken as a mythological Harpy, "And these girls are so pretty too!~" Joins what could only be a hippo.

Are we at the Zoo?

Or perhaps time and dimension traveled to some alternate Menagerie that succeeded?

No it is even worse.

"Let's dress them up in this!~" Coos something that could only be described as a cross between an elephant and a chicken, "And use this shadow too!~" gleefully grunts out something that could be mistaken as King Kang's uglier more manly cousin.

A monster movie!?

A nightmare?

No it is even worse.

As a young long blond-haired blue-eyed girl(?) in yellow dress with blue stockings, full make-up, eyeliner, and shadows, and a pair of girls dressed in a more generic cat and rabbit costume found out, ladies night can be pure evil.

"You make such an amazing Alice!~" gushes a woman who would normally look ordinary but as the only woman of the twenty or so surrounding me that could not be mistaken as anything but a woman , she looked remarkable enough that I wanted to hold on to her in fear; or rather it seems that Now and Nero were already clinging to her.

"I do try my best at everything I do." I gently smile along with my polite words, "And I must confess I always was curious about what happened in these Ladies Night gatherings." I admit my former, (and now completely non-existent), curiosity whilst looking quite earnest.

Ignoring the horrifying sounds of from the twenty other beings, I continue to look and smile with my head slightly tilted as if I still feel curious.

How did I get in this situation?

After I finished my, (in mock tribute to my namesakes namesake), 4444th chocolate chip cookies to be taken to Ladies Night, my mother was so surprised at my speed (cooking skill started to increase the number of cookies I could bake at once on queue and start slightly decreasing cooking time-somehow) that she invited me to go to what would normally be a girl only event. It is something that Lily and Arthuria had been jealously waiting to get into since both of my oldest sisters got in.

Hundreds of girls from the perky youth of teens to the regal sagacity of honored elders; yet the only ones truly interested in dressing up cute things... are the ones who seem as brainless as the Grimm.

But I was careful. I know how my sisters act sometimes. This could be a trap. '_I will not be caught.'_

Yet somehow that thought backfired on me as the more polite, gentle, trustful, and curious I sounded the more they gathered around me. The oldest among them, monsters with ? as their level and things such as **The Harbinger**, **She Who Cuts The Threads**, and other such names; wizened old women nearly blind of eye, yet somehow giving off the impression of seeing everything, they started speaking about an "ol' Liddel", which was joined by queries about a 'Edith, Lorina, or an Alice', and after that nearly normal conversation, a cry went up about 'Wonderland', and I vaguely recognized what they were talking about.

_The story of the girl who fell down a hole into another world._

_Based on the true story of a little girl who would go on to become one of the greatest Hunters of her age; who had an illusion based Semblance which made her 'see' other worlds-except that some signs; such as being able to later in life bring back things from those other worlds pointed to her having truly traveled to another world in her youth. She became an eternally young monster who till her dying day looked like a prepubescent girl, with extreme power. She was a one-time mentor to my namesake! Even had rumors that the Arc family of the next generation descended from her. And considering what my grandfather; their theoretical grandson had as his power, a power that combined _'_**Imagination' **__with _'_**Truth' **__or joined the heavy _'_**Illusion' **__based powers of the Liddell family, and the direct _'_**Reality' **__based powers that tend to run in my family, I'm not completely certain whether that is true or not._

But while I was coming to that revelation, the three of us were cornered, stripped, and dressed up into these embarrassing costumes that they somehow had. Why did they have this? Since both Sieglinde and Rowan take after my mother, neither have blonde hair. And I actually haven't seen a single blonde in this entire party either!

_Could it be my power?_

_Did it betray me?_

…

_.._

_No that makes no sense._

Still I had no answer for why this came to pass. So I decided to look at the positives.

1) My lying skill has gained levels like mad.

2) And I've gotten to see the levels of the mothers/aunts/and so forth of my future competition. And since it's all girls of around my sisters age or older, no one directly here would end up a classmate of mine.

3) I even ended up with a quest to enhance my reputation both personally and professionally if I continued this act for publicity. Of course, they peppered me with enough questions that I'm not even certain of what exactly I said so far… Good thing I can bring up a log later on.

Still… being here is…

Well it's not just looks isn't that bad. I've seen uglier members in my own family. It's not even the voices either, I've heard worse. Rather it's the two combined with the clothes, which is super frilly cute worn with those expressions... AARRGH!

NOPE

NOPE!

NOPE!

NOPE!

NOT THINKING ABOUT IT!

Anyway, I need something to distract them.

Those special cookies I made in secret for Now to eat later!

…

..

.

"*cough* Please excuse me, but I have an announcement to make." I say in my most polite and girly voice, "In order to commemorate this special occasion, I brought special handmade cookies as a prize for tonights special lottery drawing winner." I finish with a smile towards the suddenly attentive crowd.

_It can't get worse than this, right?_

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p><em>I was wrong.<em>

_It got worse._

Somehow after I finished using the first set of cookies, someone started(?) or perhaps continued, I already don't know and they were really convincing so… well anyway, they talked about how I was setting up a business soon, so I should bring out every single different type of cookies for taste tests.

After feeding the hordes of rabid monsters, when I thought I would have time to catch my breath and see what I've actually been saying, some friends of Rowan somehow managed (while that traitor and Sieglinde both looked guilty at the side!) to get out that I had a super special cookie recipe that I made with all my current skill (It was supposed to go to Nero), and suddenly I would fail the quest to make Ladies Night a success that I had gotten in the middle of this whirlwind, unless I put up those cookies as grand prize, and everything else I had on me as consolation prizes. I thought I was upgrading in lyin-

Hmmm wait.

I know I'm not good at lying.

I know people here who could easily see through me.

They didn't reveal me as faking it.

They must have decided to make me suffer.

This is not just a game. It depends on my real skills. I have to feel closer to my target if I'm going to ever fake it convincingly. Still, it probably won't end so bad. The person that won my super cookies (made with the highest quality ingredients) is not even going to eat it, but give it to an old male friend who is still depressed despite some accident happening years ago... (Or maybe I feel that way because I'm too young that I can't image years as being short yet?)

So it's perfectly safe.

I only tried to add a little Aura... so it won't end up badly at all!

I faux-calmly ignore the fact that my senses leveled up my '**Detect Blood Thirst' **twice as I did this quest, three more times when I gave out raffle prizes, then several times in a row with giving away this grand prize.

_Just because it was level 9 when I started the night and is now level 21 is not ominous in any way shape or form. _

Or rather… even if it was, I'll be nice and safe over here, while you'll all be over there. And Ladies Night is over and I even gained a few levels worth of experience-enough that I would be able to fully fix up Nero who was still stuck in Mid-Low leveled Soul Drain.

Somehow that sounds a lot less of a convincing argument than I thought it would be.

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p>A pitch black room. The rancid smell of months old takeout, mixed like perfume with the incense of a thousand beer bottles. A shrine to the depressed, a temple to the lonely. A simple note appears trying to combat a years long darkness that enveloped it's single desolate inhabitant.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>As you are down.<strong>

**I brought Cookies.**

**Eat them happily.**

**Jinzhen Xiao Long**

* * *

><p>But even the words and feelings of someone who is both a distant relative and a former friend were not enough.<p>

And so the cookies lay unopened.

…

..

.

Meanwhile, Jaune was looking over the first of many screens in horror.

* * *

><p><strong>Due to promises you made during the quest 'A Night To Remember', the following actions have been taken.<strong>

**The Gamer has started the company 'Jeanne Arc Industries' in 'Vale'. **

**The Gamer has added appointed 'Jeanne Jeanne' as company mascot.**

**The Gamer has accepted 67 different orders totaling 11,146 cookies divided into 746 bags of 15 cookies of 'Basic Cookies' at an introductory rate of $2 a bag within a week.**

**The Gamer has promised delivery of 17 orders totaling 1155 cookies divided into 77 bags of 15 cookies of 'Intermediate Cookies' at an introductory rate of $3 a bag within a month.**

**The Gamer has promised to give a fourth of all first year proceeds of Jeanne Arc Industries to be divided among 36 different orphanages for 'Aspiring Female Huntresses' as a partial sponsor investing in the future! **

**Additionally, taking advice from the businesswomen of the "Vale Ladies Night", The Gamer has promised:**

"**To put all effort into making this business a success so that no regrets will be left even should I fail." And so The Gamer has sent notice to 'Vale Elementary School' informing them that they The Gamer "Would be leaving school in order to pursue their dreams! And would be glad to take exams to test through all remaining grades of elementary school within a week, to properly show off everything that they learned while a member of Vale Elementary School; finest institution of Elementary School level learning in Vytal!"**

**The Gamer has also agreed to locally source ingredients from the following vendors:**

**Mauve Farms for 'Organic Wheat' and 'Organic Eggs'**

**Cooper's Mill for 'Organic Flour' and 'Organic Brown Sugar'**

**Viridian Mill's for 'Organic Cane Sugar'**

**Azure Packing Company for 'Recycled Packaging'**

**Bisque Shipping LLC for 'Delivery'**

**And Claret's Kitchen Rentals for ' Recycled Cooking Equipment'**

**All other suppliers have been reorganized by The Gamer to shift this new alignment in choice.**

**The Gamer has also promised to supply individual 'Basic Cookies' to 17 different bakeries totaling an estimated 716 cookies daily; predicted to pick up as demand sharpens to higher quotas. **

**The Gamer has unlocked 'Organic Basic Cookies' a more healthy variation of 'Basic Cookies'. **

**Minimum Skill of Level 25 Cooking required to properly create this product.**

**The Gamer has moved into high margin low volume products. **

**Beware of the associated risks.**

**The Gamer has greatly increased reputation with 1572 people who were deeply related to the Vale Ladies Night.**

**The Gamer has moderately increased reputation with 115 different small-scale organizations associated to the Vale Ladies Night.**

**The Gamer has slightly increased reputation with 17 different mid-scale organizations associated to the Vale Ladies Night.**

**The Gamer has gained the attention of 1 large-scale organization associated to the Vales Ladies Night.**

* * *

><p><em>All my money… gone.<em>

Organic Brown Sugar despite not being much different in terms of health is currently 'in'. So the price is massively beyond that of ordinary Brown Sugar which in and of itself is more expensive than White Sugar due to association. I expanded in scale enough that I will probably soon pass beyond the small business mark. And I'm starting here in Vale. And why did it have to be Huntresses-at least some of the more quiet members of my school are probably are part of any orphanage large enough that they would need sponsors.

_No this is even worse._ Doing quick number crunching in my head I come to a horrific conclusion.

_I have to level up rather than get that Soul Shard!_

_Considering my current speed, stamina, and MP…._

But first, how many levels can I gain?

Jaune stares at his over 1400% banked experience and watches sadly as it gives him 7 levels and not get turned into a Soul Shard.

_35 points._

_While normally 20 DEX and 15 VIT would seem the best idea…_

_That doesn't take training into account._

_My Aura and breathing technique can somewhat take on the place of DEX and VIT… But how much can I risk…_

_While I can get up to 53 points in INT if I put everything in it… If I do so I won't have enough with that INT alone. I need more efficient skills if I want to do this._

_...Wait…_

**_...Skills?_**

_While most of the skills I've tried to make required both VIT and INT… some pure mages are not physically strong at all._

_So perhaps if you have enough INT you can substitute in a higher INT rating for having VIT? If I can use higher INT to create a buff on top of my passive Aura enhanced DEX and VIT… I should be able to do this._

_.._

_._

_Wait… **35 points?**_

_My LUK is 55…_

_INT is 18, so I could make it go up to almost the same as my LUK…_

_What is that remind-_

_AH!** The Skill!**_

_If my LUK skill was once active because I had over 50 LUK, then I could perhaps do it again._

_But… it could really be 60 or more and my LUK lowered to create such a powerful Semblance._

_I should use the points to get as close to 30 in both DEX and VIT as I can instead…_

_If I do that-_while feeling relieved that I came to a decision quickly before frowning,

"I'll just tread water and be stuck back right here again soon won't I?" I finish out loud.

"Just because things have changed recently… It doesn't change the fact that I'm me," I say closing my eyes while taking a deep breath, "if the world gives you lemons, just add your own sugar while enjoying some lemonade." I quietly finish off my personal variation of an old cliché with a small grin.

And as Jaune clicks and selects to place 35 of his points into INT, raising his INT from **18 to 53 **he is greeted by a pleasant surprise.

***ping***

* * *

><p><strong>The Skill 'Mana Affinity' has been created through INT rising above 50.<strong>

**Mana Affinity (Passive) **

**Technique that allows the user to become more sensitive to mana and handle it better.**

**10% increase in MP recovery rate.**

**5% increase in total MP amount.**

**5% increase in magic attack.**

**5% increase in magic defence.**

**30% increase in MP related skill effects.**

* * *

><p><em>This skill is amazing.<em>

_But just the fact that it lacks level…. Is it possible that when I was born I had a higher leveled version of this skill for LUK? The above 100 stat for LUK perhaps?_

_Hmm…. still let me try creating that again…_

Energy easily focuses onto my fingertip; far more so than in the past, furthermore sensing something off I decide to focus energy on all 5 of my fingers on my hand simultaneously, rather than just on one finger, and following a faint stirring in my head that is almost instinct, I also surround my body with Aura of the same neutral type of energy, while utilizing a calmer more neutral version of breathing than I have been using during my defensive energy based breathing technique based off of The Shield.

***ping***

* * *

><p><strong>A skill has been created through a special action.<strong>

**Through the power of your actions the skill 'Energy Storm' has been created.**

**Energy Storm (Active and Passive) EXP: Lv 1 0.03%**

**An advanced mana manipulation technique. By becoming a conduit for high quality neutral energy, the user of this technique pre-prepares a portion of their MP to be released together with their hands. The technique passively has the effect of bolstering the users physical body.**

**Only possible for those talented in manipulating mana.**

**Passively increases STR by 5%.**

**Passively increases DEX by 5%.**

**Passively increases VIT by 5%.**

**Passively increases stamina recovery rate by 10%.**

**Additional 10% increase in DEX when active.**

**Able to use Ki Strike when active.**

**Has a Neutral Flow.**

**Compatible with either Defensive or Offensive Flows.**

* * *

><p><em>Ah… so that was the problem. <em> I think as the energy dissipates.

Since I created a breathing technique based on Defensive energy without being aware of what each type of flow actually felt like, I've been recovering MP far more slowly than I should have had I just been a neutral conduit for energy.

Still, this confirms it.

Such a complex technique… It makes no sense for this to be considered a normal technique and the silly skill I created to be considered worthy of being self-named.

The Energy Bolt was probably a key part of someone elses style, with this technique being a higher level variation that the Wizard(?) or beyond ranked spell caster used to keep up with other more physically inclined foes; without sacrificing either defensive or offensive power.

With Energy Bolts to start at range, another more rapid fire technique to pile up damage and stun in the holes left by the foe dodging the bolts, then this technique's active used as a finishing technique at the end an multi-faceted combo….

I can truly see the wisdom of my predecessors.

Still… as interesting as the idea of finding a way to shoot things faster would be, I don't have the time. I should be able to combine the passive of this technique with the active of my Aura manipulation skill, vastly increasing my ability to bake these cookies, still even with this, the extra rest time needed now that I chose not to raise my VIT, will still be enough that I can not afford any more delays!

And while Jaune is busy working like a cooking hamster in the Arc household….

…

..

.

A few days pass in the Xiao Long household.

"*CHOMP**CHOMP*CHOMP* THIS IS SO GOOD! *CHOMP* *CHOMP* *CHOMP*" cheers a very young and high pitched voice.

..

.

And with Jaune busy single-mindedly dealing with his steadily increasing workload, he just quickly dismissed the warning of danger without seeing the note that the warning was 'Long Ranged' due to having gotten too many ordinary warnings of danger lately, in a canopy of spills, accidents, and almost-crashes. (Though he was a bit too overwhelmed to check that his **Detect Blood Thirst** skill had gained a hidden special ability for reaching above level 20 in so few activations as well; granting Jaune the ability of vaguely sensing great danger to him even at vast distances should the danger be high enough.)

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p>Jaunes power is really effective at what it does.<p>

Jaune thought he could keep Now at bay by promising to do something Heroic with the money he was making.

But didn't really plan on doing all that much with the money until he had accumulated a large nest egg, and gotten high quality equipment.

And since he didn't want to fail the hundreds of small-scale quests that he just auto accepted during the Ladies Night… he missed out on doing the Brotherly thing and sacrificing for his sister to do the Heroic thing where it's implied that he thinks Nero can handle it (which she technically can-since she was recovering, just slowly). And with what he teased her about while wearing weights taken into account, he actually managed to increase both of their impressions of him even further.

Also, while having a girl over was no big deal, to Juane as he has 7 sisters and pretty much just glossed it all over in his head, with Neros comment on how he should already have a girlfriend being similarly ignored (since at this point of time he is still considered someone on the road to becoming a Hunter, so unlike Canon Jaune, this Jaune still has his initial good reputation, smarts, looks, and physical ability. And since he just awakened a Semblance and his Aura in one go, he now appears pretty much guaranteed to become a strong Hunter considering both what others know about his background and motivations…)-but has zero experience actually dating.

Well it normally wouldn't be so bad... but he is suddenly more popular with girls than just his awakened abilities alone should allow him to be, (something that is the result of his Title increasing his reputation gain with girls, as well as giving him a natural impression of being slightly flirty regardless of what he is actually saying); so he also forgoes mentioning school thinking it'll die down, which takes on a rather different feel when combined with what they think he did to Now to get her to 'have to' live with them while slightly crying, (something else Jaune didn't want to dwell on, but was something that he wanted to make up for by creating for her some treats that he created for her-treats which were the first sacrifice, showing that he does value his family more than anyone else), well his sisters decided to 'punish' the 'playboy'; hence why the attempt was so well-organized.

He also came to the conclusion that he once had over 100 LUK which is not true-rather he was born with both the skills given to a Gamer with over 50 LUK and over 100 LUK, which helped his LUK grow. As a testament to how his Semblances appears to be a growth type within Canon.

Originally, I had Jaune (still overwhelmed by Ladies Night), put his points into STR and DEX, and be forced into destroying his friendly relation in order to get enough money to continue on.

Then I realized that Jaune would only put points into STR as a matter of life and death; due to knowing just how much easier to increase physical stats pared to mental stats; especially with STR being the least helpful such stat with his defensive physical and offensive spellcaster fighting style.

So I then had him put 50/50 into DEX and VIT.

But then Jaune complained at me. Saying that he made this mistake and wanted to do better already, and that I would soon make him into a running gap on **Aesop Amnesia ** if I kept him from calming down from past experiences.

So then Jaune calmed down, at which point it became obvious that he would notice another possibility, and take it. So rather than me poking at how he chose not to get INT pass 50 since it was not enough, I instead had Jaune calm down and remember that unlike in most video games, where current resources are pretty indicative of your total resources, he actually had the ability to create new skills based on his imagination and stats. So Jaune saw possibilities that while of some risk, (since it could be a far more complex skill than the current limited in sensing ability Jaune was thinking of), the chance of success was enough that he went and did something pretty smart for once; salvaging a great deal of the situation.

Of course, he is still stuck in a business where he naturally will become a threat towards affiliates to many large companies, and so is on the route of being forced into change, while at the same time has founded a company that gives off the mistaken impression that he's a girl. It's something that will drive some further quests-since as a living world, a great deal of things have to be unconnected or else risk making the world seem unnaturally small. But coming up with completely random quests will just cheapen the story, so coming up with quests that'll naturally come up with Jaune having the sort of personality that he does is… interesting to say the least.

Jaune once more exercised how he was with Ruby, agreeing while not really agreeing to her comment on his 'heirloom', which by that point was most definitely a 'hand-me-down' to Jaune with his confidence reduced from repeated failures. Still, he should be showing signs of being more aggressive than even a somewhat more confident Canon Jaune would. Part of it is age. Part of it is perceived ability. But another part of it is the nature of his ability or rather his Semblance.

And yay for Ruby, the first main cast member affected by Jaune.


	8. The Hero Pushes Buttons!

**RWBY** (**Roosterteeth**) and **The** **Gamer** (**Sung** **San-Young**).

I am neither of the two groups.

I thus do not own either **RWBY** or **The** **Gamer**

I do not own **Diablo** **II**, **Blizzard** **Entertainment** does.

I do not own **Business** **Strategy** **Game**, **McGraw**-**Hill** **Irwin** does.

I do not own Rome Total War, The Creative Assembly does

I do not own **Fate/Stay Night**, **Type-Moon** does.

I do not own **Street Fighter**, **Capcom** does.

I do not own **Guilty Gear** either **Arc System** **Works** does

I do not own **Star Wars**, **20th Century Fox** and **Lucasfilm** does.

I do not own **World of Warcraft**, **Blizzard** does.

I do not own **Monster Girl Quest**, **Torotoro Resistance** does.

Version 1: Cooking first. No Grimm felt too similar to the last chapter, like a part 2 rather than a separate chapter.

Version 2: Was too inwardly focused. Didnʻt feel any changes happening to the world.

Version 3: Somehow spent an entire chapter with Jaune fighting Lily then thinking about how he got to the fight; getting me nowhere.

Version 4: Got stuck in why being in a business should really suck.

**Remember that Lien is like Yen rather than $ or Euro.**

**Calendar is based on 2005 (since RWBY canon starts in 2013)**

**The Games We Play Notes:**

**12/13/14 While they seem more biological, it does appear that Ryuugi introduced Human *******

**At least I don't think he'll include Soul healing, exorcism, and Magic Cookies. Hints of a weakening seal, but speaking works differently at least.**

**12/16/15: A bit different, I go the Emptiness becomes so great it goes full circle pov. It's how the Four Symbols gave birth to the Faunus, and the Arc Styles quest for Aether works.**

**12/18/14 NOTE TGWP: Glad to see Grimm Slayer being used, otherwise pretty expected.**

**The Gamer: We got WIS! Too bad it took so long for Jee-Han to be able to click on a stat to see what it does. So once more I'm going with 'something is interfering with that function', like the tutorial and gaining levels. **

**12/19/14 NOTE: A style descended from someone who later became a god huh? The Arc styles coming from Heracles is already stated in Jaunes 'maybe this, maybe that' way at least.**

**12/25/14 The Gamer: So something similar to A**a may exist in that world too huh? Still, if I keep looking at other stuff, I won't actually finish before Christmas is over.**

* * *

><p><strong>Jaune Arc: The Accidental Hero<strong>

**Chapter 5**

**The Hero Pushes Buttons!**

* * *

><p><em>My brother is a genius.<em>

In the blinding white light of a hospital room, I first saw him.

A small little thing, expected of being born half a month early.

I didn't want a little brother; my three little sisters were already enough, as Sieglinde Arc, the oldest child of the Arc family, I had to be responsible; and that was hard. I couldn't play and that was sad. Most of all… what little time our parents could spend with us would get smaller once more. So it was like a little monster, who took away time; time that I would never get back.

Still I was the oldest, so I had to be there.

So while my sisters sulked I went to the hospital room expecting nothing.

But then I saw him.

_And he saw me._

His eyes, for the briefest of moments… were white.

But, I dismissed it as a trick of the light, as he never showed any other sign of having Aura.

My brother is a genius.

Always a bit too old.

A bit too responsible.

A bit too smart.

Even a bit too friendly.

But he never seemed to have any type of Aura based power.

So my worries flipped from him becoming a heartbreaker,

to worrying that his heart would be broken.

But whenever his unintentional-after long study I'm reasonably certain about that-flirting would reach the point that I felt an intervention was necessary, he would... break up an argument by saying something random, and I would see why I left more and more situations in his hands.

I never had a problem with thinking,

but always had a problem with expressing.

Jaune never had a problem with either of them.

But he _assumes _things.

He wants to be a Hero, and he kept listening to stories, studying more and more as time goes on.

He learned the basics of cooking to make healthy food for us all, trying to be the 'man of the house' because that is what father, his personal hero, told him he was.

He comforted all of us, even if he couldn't tell exactly what was wrong, but never thought of himself. Life to him was simple.

He would become a Hero.

And so would we.

_And that was all._

Despite having natural physical talent, he never asked to be trained, not like the twins who came up-shy for once-for my help, nor did he go off to train like Scarlet and Nero, or even study combat magic like Charlotte did, despite being the smartest among us. So I was uncertain that he could become a Hero.

He started following grandfather around as well, becoming smarter to the ways of the world, but he did so by copying another person. Traces of father and traces of grandfather, I worried that he would lose sight of himself with all these imitations.

Life was not simple. While I didn't mind becoming a Heroine, or even a sidekick, Rowan went along with it because she loved him more than any actual desire, Scarlet worries about the past; wondering if she even has the right to become a Heroine, and Charlotte is very nervous about such a scary concept. So most of us would probably never be Heroes in the way that he dreamed.

So I was worried that someday, the day after his dreams were shattered, I would try to be there for him, and he would push me away.

I attended Signal to set a good example for my siblings; most of the extended family considers themselves too good to learn from a government subsidized school, even before taking into account the divide between traditionalists and modernists.

_But I had a feeling… a hunch if you will._

That alone of my siblings, Jaune would never Awaken his Aura on his own, that the distance from hiding to hide our Aura from him; combined with how his other older sisters, except for me, kept playing with him to make up for the times that they were training their Aura, were unconsciously starting to baby him, would make him start to hate being babied.

That Jaune would spiral through failure after failure; trying his best to be strong, but getting weaker as sibling after sibling passed a Hunter Equivalency Exam (HEE), while Jaune failed to enter Signal trying to set a good example for his younger sisters to follow.

That my little brother would fail, crash, and burn; with nothing that we could do to stop him.

And so I killed Grimm.

The Grimm fed on negative emotions, some people think they also make them stronger; it would be nice if I could say that I killed them because of that.

But that was not the case.

I just killed them because… I didn't know what else to do.

So I killed Grimm.

Killed Grimm.

And killed more Grimm.

Staining my hands with blood so many times that I decided to name my gauntlets Fafnir, after the bloodstained dragon my namesake once killed.

That knowing look on Jaunes face…

I felt guilty.

Like he was judging me.

But then he smiled like normal again.

I wanted to help him.

But I couldn't change how I acted around him now.

Or else he would suspect me.

Refuse me.

And go away even sooner.

I didn't know what to do.

So I killed more Grimm.

But now I have to reconsider _my assumptions._

_Because Jaune is a genius._

One day, (I found out later that the day before he had awakened his Semblance), he just came up to all of us, and hugged us, hugged us while looking sad.

Outside of Scarlet whose connection to Aura is… frightening, only I noticed the faint hint of Aura around him.

I had been maintaining my weapon, as well as studying Earth, of the Classical Elements, in order to develop a better affinity with my weapon, and I sensed something similar to that around him.

A feeling like he was reaching into the World.

And unlike I who could receive no real response, for him, the World reached back.

Then the next day he was gone.

Gone training with Nero; Nero the strongest of his younger sisters, Nero whose Semblance was enough that I once recently had kept watch while she killed an Ursa Major; an impressive feat for a 7 year old, regardless of her fainting afterwards, and then, I wondered how much he knew.

He came back looking different. Taller. Grimer. And the power following him...was below only Scarlets out of nowhere. He felt… almost like father somehow.

And then I noticed his eyes.

They were white.

Just like _that_ day.

And suddenly I worried about what had happened.

I was even more shocked hearing his story.

His story after he had Nero sent to the hospital, after he had gathered us all together, was that he had failed.

While he used bigger words; another bad habit of his to tend to do, Hunters generally lack the luxury of monologuing, he basically said this:

"Killing Beowolves wasn't too hard, Ursa Minor a bit of effort, but an Ursa Major pushed him completely. Nero was already tired from the hundreds of Grimm they had already fought, most of them killed by Nero, but he could only protect her from the Ursae, and fainted himself. Nero Discovered her Semblance, and fully copied a portion of his power. Then she almost died because using the skill depleted too much Soul. Because she couldn't handle the strain. But not to worry.

_Because he already used the skill several times on her, so she wouldn't die._"

Just how massive his Soul was…

Even the Twins thought that Nero would surpass them one day.

Yet… he said it so casually.

_My Soul is far stronger than hers, so I should have prevented it._

I talked to father, who came home specially having heard Nero was hurt so badly and received another shock.

In the years that I saw nothing...

Jaune _had _been practicing.

Jaune had been learning the basics of The Shield, and other arts.

Jaune had been learning about the Elements.

Jaune had been learning about the previous Heroes.

He just did it when we weren't around, finishing all his homework for the month in the first few days, excusing himself with how Hunter families can request to do homework ahead of time in case of volatility; leveraging that most of those trusted to teach at the elementary level were old enough to know the legends behind father and grandfather; really making him a genius intellectually as well.

Did I ever know him?

Did he ever need me?

Are we already too far to ever stay together?

I went to him to try to vocalise this.

And saw him _creating _new ways of healing, with nearly as much control as Scarlet, a genius in Aura manipulation.

So I left.

And when I saw him again, he was baking cakes.

And baking cakes.

And baking cakes.

It felt like looking into a mirror, and so I fled.

Then one day he created cookies.

The power inside them… was amazing.

While he had saved the best for Nero, he did give each of us a cookie.

It felt like being healed… except greater somehow.

Then I realised it.

It was the World.

He had placed a bit of the World.. the highest level of enchantment, into a cookie.

So I rushed to see him, the genius in enchanting.

And found him with Nero, saying something that astounded me again.

_These are failures, but, they should make you feel a little better._

I found out later that he had been trying to create Soul restoring cookies, so that life restoring cookies, cookies that restored based on the Worlds concept of health, truly was a failure to him.

But at that time, I just stood around, completely shocked.

Then ran.

After nearly a week of baking cakes, he went to visit someone, and brought back… a girl.

She was a few years older than me, and despite being baby faced was stunningly beautiful, was obviously less than mentally mature; almost seeming to fall into the stereotype of a dumb blonde, and was desperate to stay at our house with Jaune.

I was worried that she had Jaune hooked around her fingers, or more likely with how glamorous her proportions were, other… parts of her body.

But _I _was assuming things again.

Jaune had made her cry.

So he was taking responsibility.

Part of why he had gotten so strong,

_was because of her._

We were all stunned by what sounded like a love confession,

but now I don't believe that Jaune realise what his words sounded like,

Still.. from the look on that girls face, that didn't matter.

My baby brother would become a 'genius' heartbreaker, so I stepped aside.

And let my sisters plan what they would.

Abandoning Jaune to their tender mercies.

I knew he was baking.

But I avoided him completely.

And so the first time I realised it, along with Rowan it seems, was at the party.

The cookies Jaune created… were amazing.

The work of a master chef.

And that made me feel even worse.

Even people with top-class learning Semblances, generally lack… something.

A power that is good at acquisition of new abilities, the ability of a early-bloomer, generally lacks in progression of those abilities; like how Nero can copy and learn most abilities, yet retains almost nothing to build off of later.

It was how Julius Caesar failed.

He fought Behemoth, Unconquered Monster of The Land to a draw with his army at full strength, with both sides letting the other go, seeing a reason to fight again later. Julius was certain than in a millennium his descendents would be even stronger. So no mutual death was necessary. Behemoth was certain that the descendants of Julius would fail to live up to his name, but felt intrigued at the possibility, while having nothing to lose by waiting. Roland ended up fighting impressing Behemoth with his personal strength, yet still losing in the end. That the greatest Paladin was spared, is something that I as eldest am probably the only Arc sibling who knows about it-or perhaps thats just my assumptions again-still becoming a Hero is not what he thinks, no fairy tale end awaits him, but I love him too much to break his dreams myself. Julius was unable to enough abilities of beyond the highest levels, instead gaining many abilities that were near Legendary, but only barely so. Roland had Legendary ability, but without a growth Semblance he was unable to fight in enough fields to match something like Behemoth.

A power that is good at speeding up growth, the ability of a strong-bloomer, generally lacks either in acquisition, or in mastery. Our ancestor through Mordred's half of the family, Morgan Le Fay, is an example of that.

She could acquire any magic skill with only modest effort.

She could learn the basics to expert level on any magic skill with ease.

But then… her learning ability rapidly slowed down.

So she made a contract with The Lady of The Lake; who turned out to be Leviathan, Mother of All Sea Grimm in 'Human' form.

To acquire a connection to Water so strong that she was able to super-charge her Semblance through fluidity; similar to how Heracles used Earth to add the weight of a mountain to each of his punches, without actually having to carry a mountain on his fists through extreme application of a connection to Earth obtained from his Goddess nursemaid. It just built on his supremacy as Son of The Heavens to add in Earth; something that in older sets of belief… older powers that Heracles actually tapped into, would create the entire World, to further enhance his Legendary strength.

A power that is good at taking expert class skills to true mastery, the ability of a late-bloomer, generally lacked in other places. The power of Siegfried that I inherit, started at almost nothing. I was just slightly more durable than other people. Healed slightly faster than the average person. But training intensely with Aura, intensely enough that I physically injured myself… if other people could do 1000 work before breaking, while i could do 1010, with them resting for 100, while I only needed 99; the difference does not seem much. But people get stronger. And I was able to work hard to get stronger… just a little faster. I could do 1100 work while others could only do 1050 work, had improved my recovery time to 95, while others only improved to 99… and it just kept moving from there.

Eventually, I was alone.

Rowan had tried to compete with me, but the nature of her powers were in acquiring every skill quickly, with only a small degree of learning afterwards, leaving her behind me by the time I was ten.

The Twins hold have more specialized powers, but despite having had Aura since they were born; the speed of their growth is only now starting to accelerate; they inherited the strong mastering learning abilities of Artus it appears.

They _will _surpass me.

But that doesn't change that I am alone _now_and for at least a few years in the future; Artus took up the throne at the age of 15 because he was waiting for his true growth to start showing, they are the same.

Or at least that is what I _assumed_.

He _was _taller.

And when he was dressed in girls clothing, he _was _more girlish.

In front of my eyes I saw it, a learning genius in illusion at work.

And I felt even worse, that I had let him down.

Then his eyes looked solely at Rowan...

While they were furious, they also somehow felt like **The Puppy Dog Technique, Ultimate Secret Skill of Girls.**

And I somehow felt slightly better.

Then I was worried about all the promises he was making.

Reduced prices on products.

Promised orders.

Bulk buying of organic goods.

Donations to charity.

None of it sounded very good for him at all.

After we returned from Ladies Night, he went to his room alone, somehow giving off the feeling of a cold and wet dog. He hid it well before Scarlet, naughty girl breaking her curfew, came to hear about the night, and he managed to; without actually lying, make the night sound like it was fun for him.

I decided to give him twenty minutes to cool-off.

And went with to his room with some of the fresh waffles, that he so loved.

We originally ate very healthy, Falafel having all the protein necessary to start the day, yet not having the same degree of fat and cholesterol. Then we switched to eating Sugar Beignets, first replacing sugar with fruit, then with increasing amounts of sugar. So waffles were what Jaune once called, "The S.S. Waffle is our last bastion of sanity, against the evils of the Cookie Faction; we can still warn The Three Cookie Monsters that it's too messy, have them use less syrup by talking about how they're overflowing the squares, and it's easy to divide to prevent fights over equality unlike Pancakes. We will fight for Breakfast, opposing their Evil Will to replace All Breakfast with Cookies.", he can be such a dork.

Still, as all 4 of us have a Physical Semblance, with all that it implies, all of his older sisters found it both fun to go along with him, and beneficial to help keep our bodies in peak condition; or rather, all of us never learned to cook, so his basic skill in cooking was a suitable alternative when our mother was busy with other matters.

And she was often busy; organizing Ladies Night was hard work. And it was fine… now. But when we were younger… only Jaune never seemed to feel the effect of even our more involved parent often being busy. So I can see why even the twins at times act as if he's the older one, and why our younger sisters all idolize him.

His strength was always around for them, even if Jaune himself didn't know what to do.

So I wanted to be there for him when he himself was so down.

Not just for me, but for all of us.

But as I started hesitantly opening the door, I felt it.

The strength of his Aura… it had increased by over five times! I felt him move and instinctively, I moved out of the way. He didn't even notice me before going downstairs to start to cook.

So I ate the syrup-filling-only-the-holes waffles alone.

I found out later that Jaune had somehow signed contracts with all those people who he promised, without anyone remembering exactly when they received his mail.

_But I knew._

Jaune must have sent it that moment with his power, after becoming resolved to do it. The desire to keep his promises; especially when he considers himself the man of the household, is huge. But even that would not be enough for him to have had that look on his face, so do what he did afterwards.

For the past two weeks, the sheer amount of Aura Jaune has been outputting, became similar to my classmates. My _Signal _classmates. He improved his meditation to the point that only I and Rowan could truly be said to be beyond it. His cooking, both in taste and the artistics of his finished product, showed me my mistake in assuming him a master before. And he got taller visibly, surpassing the twins in terms of size.

He fulfilled all those unreasonable orders by manning multiple ovens.

He had gained years worth of ability in using Aura, in less than a month.

So he truly is a genius.

Still, the scene in front of me is… different.

In the just opened room of pure white. Shining even brighter with the ample white light. A yellow and blue figure dances excitingly.

_That was the normal part._

"WOOHOO! I got forecasting! Forecasting! Forecasting!" Shouts the figure in unrestrained glee.

"In your face World! In your FACE!" Shouts the figure, suddenly starting to roll on the ground.

"Last month's prices, product quality, overall presentation; I can see it all!" Shouts the figure while shooting out dozens of tiny bolts of Aura from his fingertips.

"I can do it! I can expand! I can take on other businesses!" Shouts the figure while… using Aura Burst! The twins self-created technique!

"But first I need to figure out birthday gifts." Says the figure, suddenly completely calm, in a voice similar to a professor, while radiating Signal class Aura.

"Sieglinde was born in Spring, while being conceived in Summers passion. So the late pregnancy was in Winters chill… I can probably wait and see what she wants till after Lover's Day in February to find appropriate gifts that signify new beginnings. Rowan was born a bit later in Spring, conceived in late Summer, and so felt the warmth of Springs first light. So I should find a growth orientated gift for her.. maybe I can craft something that is traditionally for fun during the Summer? She did seem stressed recently, probably because the twins are almost as strong as her if she went full out. The twins should have been born at the start of Summer, but were both late and waited till the absolute middle of Summer to be born. They were conceived in the gathering of Falls energy, meant to be born in Summers early bloom. But it ended up working out, as twins they both covered Summer. They're starting to get into their true growth, from descent from both Artus and The Little Lady. So I should get them a symbol that they're growing, but need to store energy properly to continue to do so. So I'll get them some slightly too large underwear, good things I memorized the measurements of all my female relatives; wouldn't want to send the wrong single on something like chest size. I was meant to be born in early Fall, but I was instead born on the day after Summers death, September 1st, which isn't even officially acknowledged as part of Fall scientifically. Scarlet was born in late Fall, where energy fully matures, and so was conceived in Spring, and saw the entire life cycle while in the womb. So theory books on magic, since October just ended. Witchcraft and strawberry cake. If I organize the other decorations right, it should look like purity, modesty, goodness, love, eternity, and childhood from the many meanings of strawberry. She needs to know that I'll acknowledge her, regardless of what happens, not to fear the past, and that i'll always be there to help her; I won't be caught with my pants down like Merlin, I'll surpass him completely. Following the set of perfect 8, Nero was supposed to be an early Winter child. But instead she was conceived in early Winter, and was born early at the middle of summer like the Twins. The characteristics of that change coming from communications with the World; in accordance to the Classical Elements, combined with Vacuo We Xing, the Four Symbols making the next child a true Fire child who would best be born in that time. So I need to counter that force with a gift of Winter, during Winter, for her to remember her origins, as well as another small; albeit slightly larger gift, on her actual birthday. While Charlotte was born at the peak of Winter, rather than the end, leaving some room by traditional measures for more children, but mother cut the cord, leaving room for one of us to create new life prematurely without disruption in the family unit. Necromancy would have some effect, but Golem Creation is probably better. But for now I should choose to study Elementals; creating something new is harder than making use of something that already exists after all. I've already developed an affinity for Fire with all the cooking… In order to expand, I should gain another affinity. Or perhaps expand in Fire. But then-"

Hearing him continue rambling in the tone of a teacher, really got me.

He obviously understood the Classical Elements of Ancient Hellas, the Wu Xing of Ancient Zhongguo, with both a top-class Learning Semblance, where he also can _choose _what to learn, and from his lack of doubt in developing affinities/finding techniques, something else definite at the same time.

_He also has a top-class Knowledge Semblance as well._

In order to have that…. if he continues to learn at his accelerated pace to the peak of mastery…

_He may possess the greatest Semblance in the history of the Arc line._

But... looking at the person in front of me, who went back to practicing a mix of martial arts and magic,

I could only think..

_Who wears a Onesie to practice fighting._

Yeah...

I guess I'll leave the genius alone for a bit longer...

* * *

><p>XXX<p>

* * *

><p>After more screaming in the white room, this time in joy, I think back to the screen that I can practically still see.<p>

No wait. I have backlogs; so I can see it again.

Ha ha ha!

* * *

><p><strong>Congratulations! <strong>

**For surviving your first month in 'Tycoon Mode' you have unlocked the following functions!**

**Gaining levels in Tycoon Mode have been unlocked!**

**Experience has been retrospectively added!**

**Business Inventory has been unlocked!**

**Tycoon Mode Forecasting has been unlocked!**

**You have gained a level in Tycoon Mode!**

**You have gained a level in Tycoon Mode!**

**You have gained a level in Tycoon Mode!**

**You have gained a level in Tycoon Mode!**

* * *

><p>Nine years ago, September 1st, I was born.<p>

Born the day that Autumn starts, the day scientists place as still being within Summer. Something I felt suited me completely. My four older sisters were already great; Sieglinde like the spring, bursting out from the winter, Rowan whose great but awkward potential was like spring in full bloom, Lily and Arthuria twins born with the rare condition of being close enough in self at birth to Awaken each other's Aura for protection; even if I knew nothing about Aura until grandpa revealed it to me, I still understood that the two of them were the strongest. Thus I had no trouble believing that I was born after the best.

The world felt at it's peak, **The War** had ended, and Remnant was in an era of unprecedented peace. More and more Hunters were being trained by the day, and the connections between the Four Kingdoms were being strengthened as technology constantly improved. Naturally, things would start going bad. The house of the Kingdoms would show cracks, the paint would discolor, and weeds would start to creep up from the surrounding lands. But it would be a time of change. A time when new Heroes must rise up. And I would be one of them.

Lacking expectation of the world continuing to get better if you 'just gave it some time', I would be able to act to preserve this beautiful world. And so I was waiting, watching, and eagerly reading stories to properly learn from the past, for when my day finally came to help save the world.

_Now I believe differently._

I was born the day after Summers demise, to see the world rotting away. Without the bias of the past, I could tell that how the previous generation was hiding away the dismal state of the world, sending away the next generation to die in droves, to preserve, not their safety, but their _comfort_alone, was _wrong_.

_And that said circumstance didn't matter._

I just needed to know that the world current course would lead to oblivion, understand that I must be smarter than the previous generation, and take advantage of every blind spot to stay ahead.

Without decisive action, even my newfound powers, even while standing watch over my overpowered family, I would only be able to watch the world burn.

And work with it.

The book that placed me on this path..I wonder if it's still where I hid it? Vales main public library is one of the five largest libraries on the planet, open 24 hours a day, and difficult to clean; the number of cobwebs when I played hide and seek with Sieglinde, Rowan, and Arthuria in the past were….

Anyway, regardless of what happened to that book, itʻs fine.

As now, my priorities are in order.

Gain a strong enough position to keep my family safe first.

Then worry about other people.

I Discovered my Semblance on September 30th, the last Friday of the month while in the Vale Public Library. Saw my title and lv 2, immediately after seeing that uncensored history book, and was dazed.

Explaining myself didn't work, since I didn't really have anything that I could explain; so I was kicked out of the library for the next 6 months. So I explained that I had something to think about and wanted to be left alone for a while to my mother, going to sleep early so that I could think more clearly on the matter. But couldn't stay asleep, and so stared at nothing for a while instead.

I started thinking again the next morning, enough (depending on their differing morning schedules) to hug and kiss all my sisters, cook breakfast, lunch, and reflect. Then after thinking about it, I decided to go to the tutorial after eating a light dinner. I gained 2 levels and a WIS from that, making me level 4. When I came back, I went to get a snack, then I gained 3 more levels from a quest turn in, and choked on an apple; good times.

I became a badass level 7, the same level as Middle School Hunter-kids in a bit more than a day.

My reaction to that (after my fruit induced nap): Cry about fighting someone who would be 15 levels higher than me no matter what. "Wah, she'll always be stronger than me. Wah!"

On Sunday morning, I decided to train, train till it was time for my Saturday Night duel. My father changed my motivation from winning the duel, to winning something more though. I gained skills, and was ready to fight, recruiting my little sister to help.

She was beyond me, someone I now know was the strongest of my younger siblings; fighting with her, I felt afraid.

_Yet the more I fought… the less truly afraid I became._

And when I fought that Ursa… I was completely and utterly focused, in a way that made me understand, albeit briefly, just how my sisters got so strong. If what they always felt was even half of what I just did… that alone would be enough to change the world.

I saw the true danger of my power that day, the sheer strength necessary to bring even someone like Nero crashing down from the sky.

Because of that I realised that I needed to apologize, not in the type of grand gestures that I tended to favor from being the mediator of a large family, but in doing something simple and humble; just like how I act with my family in other times. So I trained the rest of the week in cake baking, simple cake baking, no schemes, no grand gestures, just a simple apology.

I was able to safely finish the tutorial, and soon after got access to modes.

I studied them (Sunday, October 9th), and was asked to bake cookies for Ladies Night (Monday, October 10th). I then continued to study modes even as I baked for Ladies Night. By late night on Saturday, October 15th, I had 4444 cookies for the night; could have had more than 5000 had I not been experimenting with various proof of concepts at the time. My other cookies, including Neros _Basic Magic Cookie _were lost to the hordes though. I gained stats during that time as well.

Then I was level 14, a match for a lower class Primary Hunter Training Institution (PHTI) or 'Hunter High School' graduate, as the formal name and most used nickname for the first half of the Hunter Academy system was often called. So I was strong enough to take on those a decade older than me.

What did I do? I felt weak because I knew I was only around the level of a first year Signal student.

At level 14 I already was a match for one of the lower class Primary Hunter Training Institutions (PHTI) or 'Hunter High Schools' graduates, in addition for matching a first year Signal student. "Wah! I'm only as strong as an elite student 5 years older than me! Boo hoo, I only just (probably judging by their current mid-20's levels) surpassed my logically, realistically, _amazing _twin sisters; who had been born using Aura, when they were my age."

Of course, my level 16 _Basic Aura Skill _was still within a normal PHTI school level, so I had _some_reason to feel that I was weak. But it was still complaining; since this time I wasn't in danger of dying against someone 15 levels higher than me.

My overall strength, (at the ripe age of 9 and 2 months), was already at the level of your average 15 year old Hunter Trainee. I got it by bullying a weapon-girl, killing wolves and bears for a day, and baking desserts for nearly two weeks; not exactly your normal training procedures.

Then I spent the last two weeks cooking some more. Objectively passing an ordinary expert in cooking, into master class, while running around like a cooking hamster.

Because of that, I can see the innermost depths of my multi-part Semblance.

I Learn things almost instantly, the sign of a high-class Learning-acquisition Semblance, taking it to very high-class the moment it affected _everything_, rather than just a single field.

I Learn concepts that I learned the basics of extremely quickly, the sign of Learning-accumulation Semblance, taking it to very high-class the moment it affected everything, rather than just a single field.

Those two pillars combined are enough to have a top-class Learning Semblance.

But I just add more concepts.

I continue Learning concepts from expert, into the realm of a lesser master with great ease. Even most top-class Learning Semblances lack depth to have width, or have depth without width. It is why I was so amazed by my sisters potential.

Scarlet, Mistress of All Magic.

Nero, Emperor Who Copies Anything.

Charlotte, She Who Can Learn Anything.

I immediately saw parallels to Legendary figures.

Morgan Le Fay/Julia d'Arc.

Julius Arc.

Charlemagne.

And fanboyed accordingly.

But, on reflection, I have nothing to worry about.

Scarlet surpasses me in depth of magic, but it still takes her effort to acquire magic the basics of a spell in the first place. So I win in the first part, she wins in the second part; plenty of time for me to train her. I won't end up Merlin to Nimue; because even if she surpasses me in magic… so what. Even if someone is controlling her, I'll still be able to take risks, risks someone with magic alone would be unable to take, to save her where even that Archmagus and Grand Druid failed. The Lady of the Lake may have a fragment of Leviathan, Mother Who Rules The Sea of Chaos, but even she could not use her full power as a Human Grimm. King Arthur, with his rule over the weather, eventually surpassed his patron, and Merlin in many ways was beyond her from the start. That her fullest form was worthy of being called a Goddess did not matter, she still was _forced _into taking that form, losing much power that could be considered 'Elemental' or 'Spirit', to wholly become Grimm once more.

Nimue trapped Merlin when his pants, (quite literally), were down. And I don't need to worry about that with _A Gamer's Mind._

Morgan Le Fey was eventually eaten by her contract with the beast, because she pursued speed in acquisition that she didn't have, something that will not be the end to Scarlet; I'll teach her enough magic that she'll be happy with herself, and her strength.

The Little Lady of The Lake, child of Artus and The Lady… was more complex. Since The Lady, was nearly an Elemental/Spirit/Lesser Goddess in that form, and the blood of Albion descended from one of the Twin-Dragons, direct children to Ziz; counterpart to Leviathan, whom through magic Artus inherited some of the power of…

The Little Lady was very special. Someone who could potentially surpass her mother, becoming the new apex-predator of Remnants oceans. Ordinary snakes can store sperm for up to 5 years, that what could be called the Queen of All Dragons decided to have The Little Lady sooner, before her death to Artus, (something that would have killed the sperm even if she later resurrected through some means that we lack knowledge on), meant that she did not want to risk her. Mordred and Gawain both saw to it that their half of the remaining Arc's had a child with her, recognizing her as something beyond a Demi-god, yet a step below a true God, and we've carried her since; neither of the twins fully manifest the power of Artus, but manifest both Artus and The Lady's powers.

And the same was true for the other descendents of the Little Lady, when the Little Lady decided to lay with the new rulers of Albion centuries after the death of Artus, making the Branwen, the final names of the last members of that royal family, extremely distant relatives-though seeing as how we ended up ruling France, with Charlemagne, a distant relationship would have existed either way.

And ironically, the Rose family who ruled the island (that had previously been attached to Mantle with ice) that become part of Iberia also were related to us, since we had married into the original inhabitants of Albion, which had included that group as well despite their independence. Even though Charlemagne put effort into arranged marriages when he reformed Albion, after Charlemagne we still kept contact with the french, and eventually moved back to france to get away from the corruption that took place in Vale, so the relationship is even more multi-century dead; we probably have more relation to a descendant of a french peasant than we do to the Rose family; a pity that the last scion of that family died, but the Grimm _were_more powerful after the island and a continent crashed into each other; a matter of the elementals dying off even further, shattering their already frail protection, and making the area become a true winter without summer, (an anti-continent class beam of light isn't a toy after all, regardless of the surprisingly little effect the crash had (probably some sort of sacrifice also took place)), hence the cute name the last scion of that family had.

**Summer Rose; Winters Hope.**

She was named from a land that not only no longer had a real Summer, but also a land that was slowly being eaten away by the Grimm. During The ReconquistaTaiyang may have helped reclaim such a large portion of the continent to force the war back to two large fronts rather than one front that was withering, and another that was pretty much dead. So her name was ironic. She fought against the Grimm from a young age and had only entered Beacon, (a year early like Taiyang, also with no previous schooling), to find allies. Her potence in Wind was near-legendary, despite being mostly limited in width, to having the speed of the wind, a weight that almost allowed her to teleport (at very high costs) once she was at her strongest. A pity she died so young; had she lived to 40, the rough prime for an Aura wielder… she may well have become Legendary as well. Raven who wielded Water & Avalon (Space) to create portals may have been better at long distance, but she was less of an army killer and more of an assassin to anti-battalion class fighter.

Qrow wielded Lightning and Avalon (Time) to use 'Haste' and 'Slow'.

_Sound wimpy?_

Sure those powers are common as dirt. But, as 'mere children', he the weakest of the four, was the only one able to land a hit, (however weak), on grandpa. Aura is generally a fight of power versus power, so even an AAA ranked Hunter (level 70-75 estimate by later events) would find it almost impossible to hurt an unofficial 'S+' rank Hunter (level 100 estimate). But the concept of Avalon, surpassed it with Authority. The Gods held the power to ignore natural and supernatural rules, simply because they had the Right to do so. It's like how video games give you unblockable combos, and perfect defenses; Authority could do things that make no sense, and Qrow inherited a bit of that nature. Being able to affect a lv 100, probably at only lv 60.

Grandpa was most impressed with Taiyang though. Calling him 'the same breed despite being a brat'. Which is why we ended up using the last treasure of great-great grandpa. The power of turning imagination into a limited form of reality was huge, and limited by creatively alone.

So my namesake created a lantern. One which held his power, ready to act in a predetermined way once. He was nearly in a coma for months making it, but it was powerful enough to create a small Kingdom, including experimental modern (for the time) infrastructure. Since he made it shortly before the tensions that eventually started the Faunus Rights Revolution, it was nearly half a century old by today's experimental modern standards; meaning it only a decade or so old by actual infrastructure used today, or actually slightly newer than what most of the rest of the Kingdom's had when it was used during Mountain Glenn and other such 'expansions' had nothing on what my namesake created. Which is why Castile still exists, even if far weaker, while M.G., the greatest of the expansions; the only one large enough that the council couldn't fully erase, dead within a few years of it's birth.

Grandpa knew the odds, understood the ramifications in a way that the young hunters did not, yet he still listened to Taiyang. His passion, his dreams… they were what made **Team TRQS** the strongest of their half-generation, same as father was the strongest of his half-generation. A team, rather than an individual. Of course, father grew into his prime after the Faunus Rights Revolution, so **TRQS** would also have gained their full might had they survived a few decades beyond their first war. Still with only two of them alive, they too will probably fail.

So watching out for Scarlet, or rather watching out for all my sisters is the same as watching out for **Team TRQS**.

Because Julius Arc copied countless skills, and learned a bit of each skill he copied. He made up for lack of depth; the imperfection of his copied skill, with the extremely high numbers of skills he copied. Nero is different. Perfect copying skills (depth), but limited in how many copies she can make (width).

She may never go beyond one. While her ability to learn is quite strong to have gotten to where she is now, in light of what I know of her actual battle experience, she can only match me when she has something to copy, within limits. Complex techniques that rely on multiple skills are a field that she will never match me. Julius fought Behemoth to a draw without sacrificing nine-tenths of a centuries old collection of magical items to shove a continent destroying beam at that member of The Children, but even _if _her talent is beyond Julius, she would still be beneath me in terms of potential.

Charlemagne could learn anything, and eventually ruled half of the world by Law, but his mastery learning was slow. Charlotte seems to be slower on acquisition by comparison, and she would have physical and mental limits that; utilizing with _A Gamer's Body _and _A Gamer's Mind_, I simply don't have.

So my potential _is _beyond any of my sisters, with my Learning abilities and two Gamer skills along.

My limited Knowledge Semblance on top of that has great width, but weak has great depth but has range limitations. That much gave me a very-high class Knowledge Semblance by the end of it, making my potential surpass my sisters completely.

But this new power, surpasses anything else my Semblance has.

* * *

><p><strong>Product: Basic Cookies (Basic Cookies)<strong>

**Type: Individual Sale (Individual Sale)**

**Organic: Yes (A Few)**

**Region: Vale (City)**

**Wholesale Price: 250 Lien (161 Lien)**

**Quality: 74/100 (44/100)**

**Varieties Available: 13 (10.2)**

**Advertising Budget: 125,217 Lien (145,361)**

**Rebate Offer: 125 Lien (45 Lien)**

**Retailer Outlets: 4 (16.3)**

**Retailer Support Per Outlet: 25,000 Lien (34,721)**

**Delivery Time: 1 hour (4.7 hours)**

**Celebrity Appeal: 3 (6.3)**

**Number of Local Competitors: 223**

**Number of Foreign Competitors: 5**

***() are Current Industry Estimates**

* * *

><p><em>Deadly and dangerous. Simple but deceptive. <em>

The estimates are created from a snapshot of the _previous month_; being accessible from the moment I received the mode. So I spent half a month running like a hamster in a wheel, with no _real _idea how much more I would _really_need to produce, no way to acquire information on that matter, and not even knowing enough to properly know my own costs, under high stress for two weeks, then suddenly I had enough information to make my previous struggle look hilarious in hindsight.

Unlike Ladies Night, the mid-monthly event that _needed _to take place in the middle of the month, for the organizers to gather vital information to discuss the previous month, I _immediately _had data sufficient to decide the moment a new month began.

Even super high-tech Schnee, pioneer of daily monitoring, still had to process that data; and half of their entire empire is based on low (financial) cost strip mining, making most data gathering go far slower.

With this alone my Business situation is not hopeless, when combined with my my Knowledge abilities and current skills; is already enough for me to be mid-class

Because of what it means to start a business in Remnant.

In Remnant, the main problem is the Grimm. That applies to the markets as well, most of the markets are isolated; very few can afford to keep regular connections with the rest of the world. It's why Atlas (though the money was actually a donation from Kalte Schnee) received much praise for their grand 'gift' of bringing the world the Cross Continental bringing the world closer together was huge. Even with Kaltes accompanying international trade system, only major hubs were connected together, and sporadically at best. While the world is vast, The Grimm naturally makes expansion… less than feasible. Those inherent limits drive up land prices and it's derivatives; including rent. The extreme capital costs of starting a business in the middle of nowhere makes pioneering outside of the reach of all but the most wealthy. And that is the only free market that you'll ever find. Tariffs, import/export fees, even bribes all have to be taken into account. Escaping your local market requires that _in addition _to making your way through hordes of soulless monsters, a damper on early investment that makes the average entrepreneur start in their early 30's, after having mastered a field and gathered tens of millions of Lien's in savings.

The main exception to that age rule is generally Semblance users, but even there risks are abound. As the other party _knows _that you _need _to sell your cargo, wholesalers can generally drive prices down; even if it's strongest at the greatest of them; the SDC under Eis being the strongest in _every field_, and natural leader of forced discounting.

And often times, one of the oliogopths are the only ones buying; their control over politics and the underworld is quite strong, their strongest secondary business. The SDC has been slowly devesting it's criminal connections from the time of Kalte, but they're doing it slowly to milk the cash cow; the land necessary to feed one of those things is great even in Vale… well Yoo-hoo and Udder Satisfaction together control half of the market for a reason. The market just can't handle more competitors with it's current usable land; well that's not exactly right, as it's more a matter of type of land available is wrong. The Grimm don't need to eat. Humanity does, and it causes them great despair if you destroy their food. So growing food on the outskirts of your land basically lets Grimm come by to wreck it; so natural limits exist based on what humanity can squirrel away inside of protection, rather than lacking land. Even someplace like Beacon is not completely disconnected to Vale, it's just that it's outside of Vales walls. So nothing is stopping the space from being conquered; the Grimm in the area are weak enough to allow it. But after you conquer it… you have to hold it. And the area has almost no defensive value. So just like Mountain Glenn, it too will fall.

If you're too successful, the Oliogopths are more than happy to crush or buy you out. As you would expect, very few serial entrepreneurs exist, and of the few that _do _in fact spawn multiple businesses, most suffer an 'accident' or 'disappear'.

And due to the previously mentioned political power, the council tends to take the side of the Oliogopths as well.

So starting a business isn't rare, but starting a successful business is rare. It's not strange for even a 'large' scale organization; something that by the strange definitions of my power probably means: nearly an Oliogopth to want my help. Of course that is just a guess. The size of my organization is too low, and my level in Tycoon mode is too small to make up for organization size. Meaning, I can't actually see the name of the largest organization that I gained reputation with from Ladies Night is, something that would give me a hint. Even the details on the mid-scale organizations is fuzzy, the small-scale groups at least give me an Observe style summary.

Being Huntresses, spouses of Hunters, and so forth, those women knew power when they saw it. My mother probably bragged about how smart I was for years, making me a viable candidate to run a business someday even if I ended up with a shitty Semblance. That my Aura, from the moment it was Awakened, was at the level of a middle schooler preparing to enter a Hunter Academy was already boast worthy. And by Ladies Night, my gained levels and investment in INT enhanced my Aura to the league of a Lower-class PHTI student.

They approached me in order to test out what I would be like in a few years, I see that now.

When they discovered that my learning ability was huge and multi-dimensional, they swarmed me, keeping me off balance to better test out my limits. Then Rowan's friends revealed that I was a true creator; someone able to use Aura to create artifacts of power-and I was good enough to do it with cookies; a temporary and transient existence… Well if I was Sieglinde's age, I would probably already be engaged, possibly to multiple women with how the old families are. Though that may be giving my father too little credit, he and grandpa fought during the Faunus Wars for a reason; mother probably helped with make _Ladies __Night _such a large affair precisely because many of the older families would no longer interact with fathe; rebelling against a family is a big deal in a world where half of all Secondary Hunter Training Institution (SHTI) students, full graduates of 'Hunter Colleges', are dead after their first year of combat. Or rather, as the families were from before The Warand so came from a time where most started fighting in middle school (the point where Semblances and Aura generally… well the reason Puberty Superpower exists is because of the timing of our actual powers), or in the case of actual scions of the families, sometime in late elementary school.

The old method of combat training is still used by some of the old families. Sparring and fighting to gain all your strength is… well even with the skill of the best, Aura, and healers only a third of all people trained in that method survived. Still, the results are obvious. Despite being in High School, a great deal of Signal girls were at the gathering. Graduates around the same level as Lily/Arthuria/Rowan-mid-twenties all of them scattered like flowers. While age is difficult to tell with Aura wielders, especially powerful ones, I have Observe. Women in their mid-twenties, I saw more than a few above level 40, and that doesn't take into outliers; people who were among the best of their class, and continued to be the best after graduation. At level 7 I could only see up to level 57, but I recognized the way some of those women interacted; though to be fair I only did it _after_the rush to create cookies ended. Still I believe putting the best and brightest among the rising stars in their mid-twenties at level 60 would be accurate.

So on my (new) estimated scale I was nothing.

On the HEE ranking I was something, but the lower portion of the scale was useless.

C Rank (Automatically obtained by a PHTI graduate)-many prospective students for an Elite PHTI get this rank before they enter a PHTI, and it's still a normal method to acquire this before graduation for above average students. Jobs like Sheriff actually require this qualification, as taking a HEE is not only a competency exam, but also gets you registered with the council as well; with all that implies. Sieglinde was 11.5, Rowan 12, and Lily and Arthuria were both 11 when they gained this qualification. Only the Twins had Discovered their Semblance at the point that they took the exam. I estimate some level 5 with Aura, or level 10 without Aura would be able to accomplish this; meaning an average fully grown adult still in the physical prime of their early 30's should be able to do this.

CC Rank (Automatically obtained by a SHTI graduate)-A greater challenge, allows one to be a 'real' (by council definitions) Hunter, but still laughably obtainable. Top ranks in most security based businesses require this. Maybe level 15 with a high Basic Aura Skill/low Intermediate Aura Skill. Without Aura you would need to be closer to level 25; simply because the nature of someone to have gained that many levels would have to delve towards combat (unless I'm mistaken in my assumption that 'extra' stats comes from practice even in 'normal' people, while 'levels' come from battle).

Many outside of the Kingdom eventually gain the ability to pass this test. A graduate of a normal PHTI is around the right level to pass this with Aura, and most of the low level Hunter's in their late teens, who carried themselves differently than those who went on to a SHTI like Beacon, were just in their 20's as well; around the same place as those people that had helpful positions as a 1st year Beacon Student. But the reason to go to someplace like Beacon (according to my father) is mostly the connections. Unlike 'Hunter High School' where all forms of inter gender relations are strictly monitored, in 'Hunter Colleges' said relations are allowed.

This is due to the difference in audience being served by the two institutions. The Warshattered every nation on Remnant, while also causing Australis to nearly become a lost continent like Iberia had during The Napoleonic Wars. So the newly formed councils had to reassure the people fast; otherwise the negatively would eventually draw enough Grimm to annihilate Humanity in it's entirety. So they for a time spent half of their collective budgets on education. Over 3,000 temporary Hunter Academies were created. Two-thirds at the Primary level, the rest at the Secondary level; the council was certain that they would quickly have, then surpass the number of Hunters from before The War. Which realistically is probably why they shafted the veterans of the The Warso badly. But with my power, I can literally see why it ended up failing.

_Basic Aura Skill_, gained 1% per level for me, after starting at 5%. It continued doing so till level 25. At level 26, I received nothing. It wasn't until level 30 that I had acquired another 1%. Because of that, the problem was obvious.

While I can choose when I upgrade my Basic Aura Skill to Intermediate, anywhere from level 50 to level 100, other people cannot. So some upgrade near 50. Others 60. Others 70. This continues all the way up to 100. As my upgrading potential probably has something to do with the Learning and Knowledge nature of my Soul, most people probably need a higher level like 70-80 to change tiers. And as even people who are born with advanced abilities to use Aura appear to end up in the same place at the end, it is likely that some people Awaken to an Intermediate Aura Skill instead.

The reason I think this is simple, Aura users nowaday are weaker. Watch any good Vacuo Wuxia movie and you'll see. In the old days, when people actually meditated to find their inner self, went to numerous harsh trials, and all that other good stuff… the sheer amount of Aura from the start of a disciples Aura training was nearly low class modern day Hunter class. Or.. if I backtrack from "Level 20-30 with no Aura suddenly gaining Aura" to "Level 20's gaining Intermediate Aura Skill" I see a remarkably similar level of Aura. The only reason the current technique to Awaken Aura is so well used… is because it's simple. Takes a large chunk of your average Hunters reserve, and if I'm as correct as I believe I am, doesn't give you a very noticeable result. It also explains why the old families still try to have their children self-Awaken their own Aura.

These large differences in end goal is then further compounded by difference in starting position.

Let's say someone without an Aura managed to get into a low class PHTI without much standards to Awaken their Aura. Let's say their strongest classmate is level 10 in Basic Aura Skill. The difference between 5% and 14% is huge. But the difference in stats between someone with 10, turning to 10.5 and 10 turning to 11.4 isn't anywhere near as huge. And since people gain stats from Aura at different rates and proportions… some gain a great deal more to physical stats, others to mental stats, and others are balanced like I am. So other than thinking that "People are different, small differences are to be expected," you really can't determine anything at the start of a PHTI. And by graduation, let's say that the average student like level 20. The best student may only have level 25-in other words have gained the equivalent of one more percent.

A higher class PHTI has larger differences. But even the difference between someone graduating with level 30 and someone graduating with level 50, is just 4%. And the rare person who upgraded to Intermediate could be said as being "unusually talented", and calling it a day.

Elite PHTI get more people with Intermediate, but lets say the average graduate has level 50, and higher graduates has level 60-only a 2% difference exists. More intermediates change the scene, but it's known that you'll hit a wall at some point, and after overcoming a wall, grow rapidly again for a while.

But then you have people from an old Hunter family, who start a PHTI at level 20, with advanced training at home acquires intermediate, and levels up to level 15-20 in intermediate, with real monsters existing who are level 30+ (which since it's in a higher tier, most likely gains extra stat points for more levels). They demoralize everything that moves. Luckily, after veterans of The War were shafted, very few old Hunter families let their children into PHTI, making them an outlier.

But… is that really good luck or not? Since people from all 3 types of PHTI then met each other in a SHTI, and found out how far behind/ahead they were. With most people of those early classes not graduating. So the council decided to let in anyone at any age; so long as they passed a proper entrance exam; one that was moderately harder than the current average student at the PHTI. At which point… Seeing the opportunity, the old families mass sent their children (of roughly correct age to be more insulting), to the 'colleges' and completely and utterly crushed the current crop of council trained students. And since subsidies were so high, they were doing it cheaply, when many Hunters that survived The Warhad been powerful enough to become middle class-lower upper class even without much in veteran benefits. So they managed to stay in the schools, even as enrollment sharply decreased. Then around 15 years after The War, when enrollment in SHTI level programs of non-hunter kids reached an almost critically low point, the hunter-kids retreated enmass; causing the near total failure of the system. It was covered up by the over all economic depression soon after, but it still was a really dick move, though it may have accidentally allowed the Faunus War to go against the council. Or at least I think it was an accident, but you can never tell. Still, the council had to crack down, making a big deal on other rebuilding efforts, and focused on quality of life, rather than being safe and defended. That sort of extreme spending of money, combined with other 'free-lunch' policies, ended with The Great the greatest of the SHTI were able to survive, many of them were sold by the governments to pay it's debts. So while over 1,500 PHTI exist; regardless of many people a Single-Room School, less than 150 SHTI exist, of which only 12 count as full sized academies. Beacon (Vale), Haven (Mistral), Codex (Atlas), and Ren (Vacuo); count as over half of the population of those 12.

Of the roughly 2 million high school graduates worldwide, roughly 100,000 are from PHTI; most of them ~level 15. But, only around 10,000-15,000 apply to a SHTI, because most students just wanted to Awaken their Aura, and gain basic combat training. And only around 5,000-7,000 are accepted each year. 10,000 take the CC rank HEE, of which only around 3,000 do it become Hunters; the rest just use it to further boost their resumes. Only 30% of SHTI graduate, meaning less than 2,000 graduate a year, with only 30% of those; having seen some of the dangers involved, actually become Hunters.

Those figures are deceptive. Elite PHTI like Signal have a far higher acceptance rate into SHTI, and near 100% pass rate of the CC Exam (should they actually take it). The 4 Elite SHTI also have a high rate of becoming Hunters; it's the rest of the system that creates those depressing numbers.

The same happens down the line. More than half of all SHTI level graduates who become Hunters die in their first year, with half of the remaining deciding to change careers; reducing the number of added SHTI level Hunters to less than a fourth. But of those ~2,000, most of them come from the poorly funded over 130 small sized SHTI, and most of the deaths come from their as well. Which makes sense, since I would place the graduate of a small sized SHTI as being similar to a Signal Graduate; just around their mid-20's in terms of level on average. So it's natural that they have a high death rate; even graduates of Signal who become Hunters have a pretty high death rate. The same illusive figures say that 70% of PHTI graduates who became Hunters by taking and passing a CC within a year of graduation dies; is even more obscuring as the number of quality PHTI is even lower.

While many of the survivors of 'First Year Syndrome' as the term goes in Hunter Circles leaves the field, as a 'positive point' many of them did so due to permanent injury taking on a Grimm too far beyond them, meaning that if medicine were better… well it's one of the more selfish reasons I have for experimenting with medicinal cookies is that I have a captive audience who would pay for it. Kalte was too busy building giant robots, making Dust extraction more efficient, improving communications, transport, and seeing to it that large amounts of basic infrastructure was built.

Still in the end the point of all this is simple.

_Real Hunters_: B rank or higher; someone who is 'only' (at estimated) level 40-45 number around 10,000 in the entire planet, with more than half being of the old generation, the shafted survivors of **The War**,and who are just sitting around angrily. The distance between each rank gets smaller and smaller, and the greatest, AAA ranks (based off of the strongest pet Hunters that the combined council could scrounge up a few dozen of to show off) are probably just 'level 75'.

This I got from my father and grandfather after the Faunus War. Neither had taken the HEE before. Grandpa was once known as **The World's Strongest Man**, contrasting his best friend **Kalte Schnee, The Tyrant of Commerce** as two legendary figures. And the council attempted to bury both of them. And while father had fought grandpa during the war, he did so because he agreed with Kalte; that politically weakening the movement to force migrate Faunus to Australis, which had been renamed **Menagerie** in honor of the 're-settlers', was preferable to outright war. The split in the Arc family… 70% of what had been the strongest family on Remnant died, destroying mountains, vanishing lakes, creating valleys… changing the face of Remnant itself. And all of it had been covered up by the council, whose control of the media allowed them to showcase their council approved Heroes, and ignore anyone that didn't listen to them.

So Arthur Arc was no friend of the council, and they treated him accordingly. Despite all their differences, father and son really were alike. They independently decided to take the exams, challenge the four AAA rank examiners of the AAA rank exam, as the tests were 'too easy', and then proceeded to grind their opponents into the dirt.

The message was clear, one that allowed the Arc family to continue naming children after ancestors, rather than be pushed into color names.

"_Huh, was that all?" indeed._

So the matriarchs of Ladies Night, being around level 70-80 should be right; naturally I'm expecting at least one to be level 90. So I decided to treat the Ladies Night affiliations as being similar to the Roman Senate in that Total War game; listen to them now, but be ready to crush them later.

Now I see the advantages of the old system. Kingdoms were pretty big on responsibility. The Ruler did big things, including keeping the nobility together. The nobles generally held their own estates and armies, being responsible for keeping the Grimm out of a specified area. The border nobles had less duties and tributes to pay, because they were actually fighting the Grimm. Most of the inner nobles became bastions of learning, knowledge, magic, and obviously food.

Grimm don't need food. Crushing food causes negative emotions in Humanity. Do the math.

Ancient Greece, or Hellas as is the native name, with numerous city-states too small to fully support themselves, needed trade to survive. The Earth itself was nearly exhausted after Heracles; Son of Heaven and Earth, fought The First, so the famine that followed was natural.

But they still could have worked together, traded enough goods to other people in the region, and have avoided The Ten Year War. The conflict that; despite Greece having 100,000 demigods; which was the honorary name of their Hunters, regardless of having/not having Divine descent, or in other words, having an army roughly equivalent to the current world's entire Hunter population. Which then cheerfully ended with 80% of all demigods dead, and the Grimm almost exterminating the Greeks. The remnants had to flee to a neighbor, and many of the refugees were eaten before they reached safety. So the claim of Julius couldn't be reliably questioned; the man had power, Heracles had lots of children, Hercules, was the most famous of them, and really could have been an ancestor to a whole lot of people. Julius even re-conquered the entirely of Greek land, gave them back to the Greeks, and since he himself was 'obviously Greek', secured a great deal of estates for the Arc family; enough to make fleeing after the death of Julius have enough valuables to bribe a few poor royal courts that existed in conquered Mantle at the time.

The Kingdom system worked because everyone had a clear idea of what had to be done to keep the ship running. The Republic failed because none of the smaller parts really worked together. Of course, every single civilization, except for the inhabitants of Vacuo, were nearly wiped out by the Grimm at some point. The Wu Xing (Four Symbols) had held such great status in the martial arts world due to this. The respect for the style was so great, that even the fact that the original four masters of the style were also the first four Faunus, was ignored completely.

Heracles based his style off of Divine Combat, battle between the Deities who were nearly his brethren. Followers of Heracles like the Arc family, followed the Classical Elements. Or rather, we ignored Earth (Spring), Fire (Summer), Air (Autumn), and Water (Winter); only focusing on the unifying Heavenly Element of Aether. On perfection in everything, on using what works, and discarding what doesn't. Leading to the Arcs gaining immense powers for short periods, yet losing most of it in the long term; yet never wavering from the path.

The Armor is a single persons passive close ranged defense.

The Shield is a single persons active close ranged defense.

The Gauntlet is a single persons passive close ranged defense.

The Sword is a single persons active close ranged attack.

The Rock is a single persons passive far ranged attack.

The Bow is a single persons active far ranged attack.

The Breath is a single persons passive far ranged defense.

The Barrier is a single persons active far ranged defense.

And styles exist for mid-ranged (like The Spear for attack), magic (such as The Staff), and avoidance (The Sandel). So it is actually pretty normal to know something of multiple styles in the family-all in route to become Aether and a miniature world themselves. The most similar concept came from that game that Lily and Arthuria were playing-Fate/Stay… something-though they seemed really embarrassed when I caught them about a year ago-

...

..

.

I thought the room smelled odd! I thought they Lily was being less touchy and feely than normal! I thought Arthuria looked somewhat goofy rather than her normal serious self! But I didn't see it.

_What was I a moron?!_

..

.

*sign*

Thinking about this doesn't do anything, just put them in my notes under 'Possible Lesbian Route' instead of Rowan, and make certain to research the protagonist to file under 'Guy-types I need to watch out for'; sleeper agents and all that.

Anyway, the natives of the eastern half of Vale believed in a vast number of smaller spirits with specific rituals for each, held a great deal of ancestor worship, and so generally just rolled with the Roman beliefs, adopting some of the most powerful Elementals that Julius and his (unintentional successors) wanted them to worship, which ironically allowed them to keep more of their beliefs than anywhere else; one of the reasons why the Eastern half of Vale is, as a whole, the most nature filled and pristine of the Four Kingdoms. Naturally other systems exist(ed), such as one that just separated the world into Light and Not-Light.

So the world is a pretty varied place, with all the systems being worth following. But… for the most part, the systems end up at the same place in terms of power. Thus the best system for me is the Classical Elemental system. Because of how secretive my family is, I could just say I learned it from the Arc family secrets. While if I used the Modern Elemental system based off of the four basic types of Dust (Fire, Ice, Lightning, Wind), then it would be easy to tell where that I couldn't have learned it from my family; so I'll just pretend the others don't exist.

Even better, my Semblance, given infinite time, could probably tap into Aether. The more probable: I'll magically get a skill out of nowhere like some late game super move. Other systems (unless I'm missing something) lack that potential without ancient lost rituals, sacrifices, and other rare/esoteric requirements.

The Wu Xing had a similar extreme power but… they pretty much ignored Earth, their almost mythical Element, and focused on four directional Elements instead. The first Faunus came about when powerful masters of both Aura and martial arts meditated not just on the world, but specifically in Grimm infested lands. The 'animal traits' (false seeing as things with non-mammal traits exist; just in lesser number) of the first Faunus was actually due to the type of martial arts that the Wu Xing (Four Symbols) were. Styles that take in everything of the world around them. The western half of Vytal has every type of environment on the planet; so it makes sense for that type of enlightenment system to have started in the area.

Their external enlightenment, directly opposed the Arc focus on full manifestation of their internal world. As two of the oldest supernatural martial arts styles the two groups had significant (read: babies) contact with each other. But it was usually only worth it in the case of a weak member of one going with a strong member of the other; otherwise their flows canceled each other out or resulted in a powerful but short lived super Hunter.

All four styles are heavily based on Aura; meaning they primarily use INT and WIS to work properly.

East: Azure Dragon: Wood, Spring, and Growth. A large scale puppet master style with plants being the minions. Focused on group combat, buffs, and rejuvenation. Could not be used without expending a massive amount of Aura to start the process with 'Genesis of the Deep Forest' to create special trees that were neutral to fire.-very flashy despite using buffs. Also provides strong defense.

South: Vermilion Bird: Fire, Summer, and Swelling. Artillery Mage type master using a larger and larger avatar of flame, used extreme amounts of Aura to maintain, but used even more controlling the unstable energies. Very few passives, but absurd actives-extremely flashy. Moderate defensive potential.

West: White Tiger: Metal, Fall, and Harvesting. Physical type, almost all passives, but extremely costly passives that keep costing more and more as you get stronger. Not flashy but extremely powerful in a short fight. Extreme offense pretty much killed it's defensive potential though.

North: Black Turtle: Water, Winter, and Stillness. Physical type, almost all passives, passives cost less and less as mastery increases, but the few actives cost exponentially more and more. The strongest single attack comes from this style-as a type of counter that uses Water to absorb the entirety of the opponent's force and use it against them. Tai Chi, Vacuos most popular martial art was created by an adept who lacked the Aura needed to fully master the extreme accumulation needed to become a true Black Turtle, yet who was fully dedicated to the path.

But research on Center: Yellow Dragon: Earth, Long Summer, and Fruition, was almost nonexistent. Rather than doubting it's existence like some members of the Classical Elements, it was understood that the possibility that something so small as a single mortal could ever become everything, was nonexistent. Which makes sense as their entire style helped them see how massive the world around them was. While the Arc style had the person focus inwardly to create and manifest their own internal world, with the point of view that a perfect persons world would be great enough to save the external world. Prejudice was formed in part because the first functionally different Faunus were created by absorbing strength from the 'World of Grimm', and the greatest of the Grimm have a 'human' form, one that is always slightly _off_, generally towards being _too_beautiful, too _ugly_, or having _extra_traits; but that was an excuse for the real problem.

Mutations from survivors of accidents with more primordial Grimm had led to the birth of individual Faunus in the past, said Grimm just were rare, and rarer as time moved on-the Arc family thinks one of The Children purposely unleashed a great deal of them to enhance the population of Faunus, then let out less in order to create suspicion on the Faunus; plenty of negative emotions to feast on that way-but few had extra _abilities_to go along with it.

The original Four Symbols changed that.

They also had lots of babies, thousands each, rivaling Heracles-one of the crack theories following the Four was that they were horny men who couldn't get laid and so trained really hard to get Faunus traits in order to screw lots of women, with all the unconscious bias behind that statement; it's not like most Faunus have full blown mating seasons or anything-and the Faunus became a true race because of that. The famous Faunus Night Vision is inheritance through martial arts, in the same way that no member of the Arc family has ever truly _needed_glasses; even great-great grandpa who was over 130 years old when The War started, and who died when over 160, had no need for glasses. Faunus probably do have slightly higher lifespans, though less so than a more insular bunch like the Arc family; until recent times, we generally only married the powerful, beautiful, and rich; that we fled The Empire after the failure of Julius, yet still only condescended to marry into a local branch of Royalty in Albion should tell you everything you need to know.

The funny part about the original dislike of Faunus as 'half-grimm', is that many of the most powerful Hunters descended from Faunus; the extra abilities were huge enough that strong and Heroic Class Hunters have popped out lots of babies throughout all time; and nearly as many Heroic Class Hunters came from the Faunus as from 'Humans', despite the Faunus originally having been… well the difference was enough that you could compare the two populations as 'a bathtub full of water' and 'an ocean full of water'. But as proof of their fertility, today, after only thousands of years, a third of Humanity are Faunus; and pure science will say that the timeframe was low enough that little genetic difference exists between the two groups.

Of course, the Grimms ability to cause changes were blamed for making them different faster, combined with some Faunus Supremacists-but none of that was the real problem.

No the real problem was jobs; or rather the economy as a whole.

Around 200 years ago Napoleon did his thing.

Conquered pretty much everyone outside of Australis and Vacuo. Had some trouble with Iberia; since they were on another continent, to the point that he ended up weakening the flagship Kingdom of the continent till the point that they fell to the Grimm with the natural effects on the rest of the population, but the Kingdoms on Eastern Vytal were easier since they tended to be on the smaller side after Jeanne d'Arc failed at completely unifying them and Mantle.

So most people really lacked the resources to start an Industrial Revolution.

And Vacuo mostly used the peace and quiet from it's neighbors to solidify its control of their protectorates. And with the Grimm attacking based on the persistent negatively after such a huge world war… it wasn't until a bit over a hundred years ago that it became possible for an Industrial Revolution to happen. But in that era where Humanity as a whole felt like it was treading water, alternate solutions came into play; creating the backdrop of another world war, one which ended just 72 years ago; causing the fall of Australis before it's end.

Two of the greatest Heroes of **The War** were **Juane Arc, The World's Strongest Man**, and **Kalte Schnee, The Tyrant of Commerce**. Kalte had turned the old system, one that had decentralized mining to be in the hands of the people; in order to prevent someone like the **Napoleon, Emperor of Artillery** from being born again, back into a larger scale affair. While he used government contracts as the base, during The War, he continued buying up massive numbers of troubled mines, driving down their costs, making them profitable, and then expanding some more. He gave away 80% of his mines to the Kingdoms, a calculated political move, one that gave the newly formed Council's a great deal of capital to work with. They put some into rebuilding, but far more into education and training; their subsidies for the Hunter Academy system. So Kalte picked up the slack. He built all the absurd infrastructure that he did because the council wouldn't 'waste' the money to do so. But that gave him an advantage once more. Allowing him to compete his way into success. But he didn't over compete, and so had plenty of reserve capital when the Council's free-lunch policies inevitably ran out of money to fund them. At which point he, the man whose first business experience had been expansion during The War, was the only one equipped to continue expanding (despite the industry as a whole contracting) once more buying out troubled competitors for cheap.

_None of this sounds like a problem to you?_

Kalte cut costs. Utility bills were the largest secondary cost to running a mine. Kalte hired workers who could cut him costs. Thus Kalte instituted a eye test, so only people who could work for prolonged periods of times in weak light could work for him. Most of the people who ended up working for him, were Faunus who had night vision. And energy occupied a central position in the technological revolution, making the sector huge compared to all other industries. Kalte was pretty much the only person hiring. Everyone else had an unemployment rate that at it's worse reached 30% during The Great Depression.

_No one but Faunus were getting jobs._

That extreme tension eventually led to violence; the **Faunus Rights Revolution's**, Faunus War.

Plans to move a third of the world population to 'resettle' Australis, which Kalte had started reopening portions of as a pioneer, were big. But they required transport, security, and Dust. All three fields that Kalte was the greatest in. He had invented the field of combat robotics afterall, created/re-created trade routes, and was the indisputable king of Dust. So Kalte would have gotten larger, noticeably larger, during that conflict as well. But his fallout with grandpa Juane was (among the older generation of Hunters) Legendary. Despite just being 1 man, Juane was able to singlehandedly fight Kalte, up until the war in the second half of the Faunus Rights Revolution derailed him. But Kalte was in no condition to expand, because of his health. One of the reasons Kalte had been driven into using his genius in the way that he had, was because his family had a history of being physically frail. Kalte had thus reached a level just below the highest class, while having started as a frail child like scarlet. So his health took a turn for the worse, and while he continued officially running the family until 30 years ago, unofficially, he turned over increasing power to his son starting from 40 years ago. So I think I can understand, just a bit… how Eis became the way that he is.

"_Heroes do not exist. The world is not fair, just do the best for your family."_I intone what is likely both of our mutual thoughts on the matter.

…

..

.

Still, what does all this talk about styles of government, education, motivations, and Elements have to do with business forecasting? Everything.

Despite the world being caught between endless conflict. Conflict beyond that of Faunus vs Human, Human vs Human, even Modernists and Traditionalists fighting each other. Strife greater than a dozen Elemental systems. And war beyond the billions of Grimm.

My ability predicts the average result of everything outside of the largest players.

Now normally, with the sheer market share the Oligopolies have, this would be bad.

But, one key factor of the modern system is its reliance on assembly lines.

A modern industrial bakery uses many parts.

_Blenders _tend the… well flour blending machines.

_Broth Mixers_, control flour sifters, mix out solutions for fermenting, oxidizing,and shortening.

_Batter Mixers_, tend the… machines that mix ingredients for cake/other batter.

_Sweet-goods-machine operators_, roll and cut sweet dough that makes rolls and other sweet products.

_Cracker-and cookie machine operators _roll dough into sheets to form crackers/cookies before baking, and remove badly formed parts before baking.

_Bakery helpers_do all the general duties, including greasing pans, moving supplies, and cleaning equipment.

_Bakery Checkers _prorate and distribute baked goods to _route-sales drivers_.

_Bakery-maintenance _engineers keep all the machines in good working order.

And _Bakery Supervisors _oversee production.

I've already established how people learn at different rates, from different starting positions, under different backgrounds, and for different motivations.

Meaning, in the short to mid-term, it's almost impossible for an industrial bakery to make significant upward changes in quality; unless they were already running at a cost inefficient level already-in which case they are probably not threats anyway.

If the coordination does not kill them, the switch to extremely high quality cookies, low overhead due to Semblance, strong storage abilities without using preservatives; or at least I'm assuming they keep reasonably well-I have a inventory clearance button, implies cookies in Business Inventory still spoils-change to individual sale, moving to an even more niche market; all while actually being able to see the actual effects my changes will make.

A 10 Lien rebate doesn't even have a 10% chance of being used. Even a 100 Lien mail in rebate only has a 66.2% chance of being used; making my actual cost at 66.2 Lien per cookie in that case.

With a mostly accurate idea of how much things cost, and a basic understanding of the limitations of industrial bakeries, I'm already taking on the biggest players in the market. And if they counter by creating world wide sales of organic cookies, in just 1 factory, they still have to ship them in a way that the quality of the cookie is consistent; meaning that it'll be consistently somewhat lower than the best of what they can produce.

Of course, very large businesses have the power to fund something like a small time baker, hiring multiple masters to create, but that requires my entering a scale large enough to threaten them, meaning that I'll probably need to sell at least a few billion Lien worth of cookies; otherwise I'm just not worth taking on directly. After I surpass… maybe the 500 million mark, I'll attract attention from a subsidy, but with the discounts I'm offering, I still have a long ways to go.

The small time bakers are the same as me. A _all-around baker_, someone who develops recipes, mix, shape, bake, and finish the baked goods. Or a _pastry chef_, someone who is also doing more of their work by hand, with high independence and creatively allowed.

They also generally spent a decade in the cooking business. Had millions of Liens in savings before opening their business. And had some degree of business skills.

_But it doesn't matter._

After passing level 50, (when combined with my bonuses to making desserts, and making cookies in particular), I'm a master cookie chef. After the month of training my cooking skill, from Now's cakes to the end of the orders from Ladies Nights, I won't lose to most of them.

The equation turns against them.

They need to be a Master Chef + A businessman.

I just need to be a Master Chef + Push Buttons.

And since my "Push Buttons" is backed up by a Knowledge Semblance beyond any all but a few Legends; I would actually be surprised if a you could count on your fingers the number of people that could beat my button pushing. In addition, they have far more costs than I do; their Semblance doesn't take care of concerns with 0 corruption, and do many jobs with 0 cost. I also can get loans from my Semblance; and judging from what I know, the quests will just tell me to expand harder.

So only mid or large sized businesses are a true threat to me.

And _that_is precisely what Ladies Night was formed to help members against.

I have 'Faction Quests', that they would appreciate that I do, with rewards.

I get _faction discounts_, meaning I can actually make the ingredients and equipment cheaper; without getting any bad will. The reward is mostly in 'Mode Experience', which makes my current mode level up, though it has a tiny degree of ordinary experience; beyond getting experience just doing things in general does for me that is.

When I saw that I naturally switched to research mode before turning in a quest; and gave my Semblance a budget to start researching the creation of a _Basic Magic Cooking_set of equipment.

It'll be done by the end of this month. I even got a title for it!

How did I afford this? I took out a **Services: Economic: Beginner Quest Loan**. Despite my Semblance deciding to troll me, saying it would give me a month before I had to start repaying the loan, it didn't really matter, since a year to repay a loan would be more than possible with these advantages; and I had no other offers in Economic Quest.

Which matters because:

Gaining levels in Tycoon Mode is huge. Increasing my levels gave me free reputation with those who ate my cookies, and free products.

In other words, people who hated my cookies turned to greatly disliking them, those who greatly disliked them turned to disliking them, and so forth. Despite being subtle and relatively weak, this margin of safety; on top of my other advantages gives me the confidence that I can _really _handle my competition. It takes care of the primary problem of demand neatly as well; people who liked my cookies are somewhat more likely to buy from me than they would have otherwise. It has both a active which added reputation with the level, and a passive which adds a tiny bit of extra reputation gained (without adding more to potential losses) to everyone that was neutral or above, which enhances my informal advertising, something which will allow me to advertise less than my competition and still retain sales in the future, just as things become tough.

Free product on the other hand… well, put free 'Basic Organic Cookies' in my business inventory. So those four levels I gained? Thousands of free cookies.

So I decided to take advantage of it; by wearing even more weight as I cook.

I estimate in a few months my physical stats will catch up to my mental stats, and I'll be able to see if over 50 bonuses exist for all stats without having to go out and spend points. If they don't, then INT is my best bet; I can't have minions until I have enough MP to Awaken someone's Aura and still fight at a high level afterwards. Also, I'll need the physical stats to cook for Professor Taiyang. With how my mother was an apprentice to my father, she wasn't much older than **Team TRQS**, so she did manage to get him to stay away from me. But I saw possibilities here. I gained a Fire Affinity (1) after getting cooking beyond level 50. Taiyang Xiao Long is the worlds greatest Fire wielder. So if I can impress him enough I may eventually be able to train under him. So I agreed to show him how I make my _Basic Magic Cookies_, next month December 3rd, the first Saturday of the month; also giving me a chance to look over Signal to see if I need any modification to my level theories.

Business Inventory is similarly great. As a massive storage for goods it differs from inventory; I can put anything in my 24 (4X6) squares inventory, but it has to be things I can life one-handed for one square, for two-handed for two squares. That meant it would stop getting stronger quickly as my STR stopped improving. My new inventory could store millions of cookies with a hassle instead.

_So it's time to push some buttons._

* * *

><p><strong>Product: Basic Cookies (Basic Cookies)<strong>

**Type: Individual Sale (Individual Sale)**

**Organic: Yes (A Few)**

**Region: Vale (City)**

**Wholesale Price: 250 Lien (151 Lien)**

**Quality: 81/100 (49/100)**

**Varieties Available: 17 (10.7)**

**Advertising Budget: 179,217 Lien (155,361)**

**Rebate Offer: 125 Lien (55 Lien)**

**Retailer Outlets: 11 (17.3)**

**Retailer Support Per Outlet: 30,000 Lien (38,721)**

**Delivery Time: 1 hour (3.7 hours)**

**Celebrity Appeal: 3 (7.3)**

**Number of Local Competitors: 223**

**Number of Foreign Competitors: 5**

***() are Current Industry Estimates**

* * *

><p>That should do just fine. My estimated cookie sales are at my targeted 60,000 despite changing the estimates to make my competition lower their prices, increase their quality, advertise more, give higher rebates, pick up more vendors, support retailers more, delivery faster, and hire more celebrities. As my advertising comes in the form of committing to making 1000 New Product cookies for Ladies Night (<em>Intermediate Organic Cookies<em>) long before I actually release the product into the market, as well as preparing cookies for the orphans on Napoleon Dayon the 20th; the celebration of the final fall of the last (near) world conqueror, I know what my costs look like pretty well.

..

.

Clicking the button used up some of my newly acquired loans, but it's not a problem.

The market for organics was weak to the past.

**The War** made reconstruction necessary. Education and training were pushed; everything else outside of basic investments were left on the wayside.

**The Great Depression** killed everyone except Kalte, who had no interest in organics.

The **Faunus Rights Revolution**, and the Faunus War that dominated the later half of the conflict, another horrible time for organic cookies.

**The Reconquista**, yet another plan to reclaim a continent, tried to retake Iberia, with TRQS being the councils new Heroes. They were completely different from the forgettable 'Heroes' the council sponsored during the Faunus War, and The War. But resources were necessary to take on the defenses of a continent… so people pinched their Lien, going without.

Seeing as how Raven Branwen 'died' (assassination guessed my grandfather), then a few years later Summer Rose was sent to reinforce the area (as the only one fast enough to make it in time) and was torn into thousands of pieces for her trouble, Qrow was closer to an assassin than a army-killer, and Taiyang ended up heartbroken, that 'reclamation' never officially hasn't ended, yet never _really _went anywhere; making it once again really hard to push organic cookies.

Mountain Glenn and several smaller expansions (that were glossed over after MG failed) were created after the (temporary) reconquest of what was once the Kingdom of Castile, which honestly was stupid enough that the Kingdom's would have been bankrupt without Kalte giving one last gift, (which since he turned over control of the company to Eis 30 years ago), directly from what was left of his own personal fortune. Yet the council's still waste the money, being loath to give up their expansions, their Hunter Academy system, or their Hunter Equivalency Exam-the three largest costs of the united councils.

So even the council lacks… 'disposable income' to make new investments.

It's the perfect setup for a business game.

So naturally it'll become more complex than that.

Well more complex than the fact that the _death _of **The War** generation, has left money in the hands of children whose greatest conflicts were done under the eyes of the council. Not a War that lost a continent due to everyone dying, but a war that failed to truly re-settle a continent due to stinginess, and another war that left Humankind in a place nearly as bad as the immediate aftermath of **The War**; without any actual rewards to be seen.

Children who inherited money, feel free to blame all their problems on others, and have lost more fortunes than any other generation in recorded history; something astounding considering how much weaker and fewer economic depressions, and recessions we've been having since **The War**. The one positive point of the council being how slow it is to change; meaning unlike the old Kingdoms, few sudden disastrous decisions that screw over a Kingdom are made.

Instead…

The world slowly dies, while the current generation is convinced the world is becoming better.

Still moral issues of supplying a generation that created enough persistent misery to increase Grimm attacks on all the Kingdoms, causing packs of Goliaths; traditional scouts for The Greater Grimm, to wait around for their chance.

When things collapse enough, millions of Grimm gather under the command of one or more of the Greater Grimm. Only someone whose power scales like Julius, or someone stupidly impossible like Artus can actually handle one of those. Grimm get larger and more spiky as they age. But eventually… their size becomes too much to hunt effectively. So they start shrinking, losing many of their old spikes and other growths, becoming closer to their original chaotic state; blood and… other parts of the First Grimm. It's why Grimm starting on the path to power start taking shapes with no counterpart on the planet; they're imitating their amazing seniors. And since the further away from the Kingdoms you get, the generally stronger the Grimm become… any reclamation plan needs to be able to deal with that; something that screwed over all of the councils expansions. They ignored the old families, because the information of millennium of fighting the Grimm, wasn't 'scientifically proven'.

Yet it's not all their fault.

The old families tend to laugh at almost any technological advances, preferring the old techniques such as Direct Dust Use, and Dust Weaving, despite it being far safer to use a weapon. They ignore the positive changes of the future to the same extent the councils tend towards ignoring the wisdom of the past.

Still, I'm getting off topic once more.

I needed to increase sales now because of timing.

As November is Military Month, where you eat for those who died, showing the fallen that the world they fought for is doing well, with a feast on **Napoleon Day** on the 20th, a celebration on the defeat of the last (near) world conqueror. And reputation is based on volume, this is one of the best months to sell high volume.

December is a weird month, but one that has the largest cookie sales due to some forgotten religious holidays. Whatever the original significance of throwing black rocks at the Grimm while shouting 'be good next year', or lighting a candle for 8 days, having multiple feast days during the last month where food, 'still had grown recently', was pretty big; though _what _and _when _people feast on, differs depending on region. Also has two different gift giving days, most people only celebrate one of them, with the Arc family celebrating on the 26th due to the failure of Jeanne in the name of the unknown Savior being one of our most recent failures.

In addition, as my full years sales would still be pathetic, and holiday seasons are a time where fad companies do well, overshoot and die-providing me with a much appreciated veil that would exist in no other time of the year, combined with how my power actually has Jaune Arc (Owner) and Jeanne Jeanne (Mascot) as two separate entities with their own stats; making the name officially look like a combination of someone in the Arc family (unknown who) plus what ever Jeanne Jeannes real name is…

Well most of my extended family could be pinned for this; due to some more bullshit that only affects Hunters. Since most of the Oligopolies were originally formed during The War, many of them had at least some experience as Hunters, so it's like the law that allows Hunters (regardless of age or previous record) to run for political office; Hunters can hide their participation in a company so long as they are approved of by some organization. It's an advantage that I can use now, regardless of how it'll turn against me in the future if left alone.

But for the expansion to work, I need to greatly enhance my cooking. I've used up most mundane-or at least as mundane as someone using their own Soul for power can be-means already, I need something special.

I need to use my hint section to take a quest in exchange for finding a particular skill.

Now Golems are ideal for battle. Obedient, loyal, and capable of resisting great punishment. But they would take substantial time to bring up to speed; even worse than hiring people would.

Necromancy involves letting the dead touch your food; so it's fine for something like weapon creation, but for cooking they're a really bad idea.

So the only type of 'minion' I would be able to get (that isn't a familiar that may surpass and try to eat me, or a robot that tries to annihilate mankind), is obviously an Elemental. Supernatural laws for Classical Elements should allow me to use Water and Earth as metaphysical weight, and so not have to actually lug around those substances, but the spell that I saw to Summon Elementals… I actually am not sure WHICH Elemental system it uses. A more naturalistic system, actually would force me to lug around the full weight of the Elements in question so thinking on it more, Wind or Fire are my only choices. Still, even if it falls on a different path, I should be handle it; as it'll be fact that I'm stronger with an Elemental than without.

I could follow this path until someone wants to acquire me; it would be more than enough to fund a full party, or even moderately fund a raid. But the scale of my power is such that I need to arm at least an entire army.

I have delegation abilities. While various functions of the mode is still locked, I do have some control over delivery time, as I can click the button next to each category and change the number. And was told that "Lowering delivery time was locked for Small Businesses", meaning that while it would cost me money, in the future I would be able to manage even those details that my Semblance was currently taking care of. The balance sheet screen said that it _currently _cost me 0 Lien (0.00%) for the _Automated Accounting System _with 0 corruption, while implying that in the future I would be able to retain the system at increasing cost depending on size. So I really can continue to compete against even the largest companies, given enough time.

_By cheating as a Gamer, the entire basis behind my strength._

_While knowledge and experience differs, skill I can obtain in weeks what would take years for anyone else. That is the timeframe most professional gamers work in. Gaining control to micromanage everything in their simplified version of the world… so the only real threat (outside of large and obvious ones) would be a true gaming champion having a power similar to my own. _

But… if I don't take the chance now, I won't be able to until Lovers Day (Heart Shaped Cookies) in February, then Green Day (Green Cookies) in April, then Fireworks Day in July (throwing fireworks at the Grimm on the 4th, while feasting is hilarious for Hunters), while October would have been Dark Chocolate and wearing masks.

And my largest foe will become manageable in the future.

Eis Schnee is just pure efficiency.

He had no friends, nor any real allies; he destroyed everything Kalte cultivated, ended most of the non-moneymaking projects as 'secondary', and steeply cut costs from when he started as a manager in his early teens almost 40 years ago, as a peer to my father. When he took over the company 30 years ago, to let his elderly father (5 years older than grandpa Juane) retire, he implemented his way on the entire company. He lowered the price of Dust over a ten year period; making most of the savings start from year 2 or 3; in order to bank several years worth of profits-before taking any hit to his bottom line. He expanded from being 18% of the Dust Market, worth 19.4% of the world's (formal) economy, to being over 30% of the Dust Market at around 25% of the world's (formal) economy, all while expanding as a Merchandiser, Servicer, and Manufacturer; becoming the largest in all 3 categories.

Rather than 4.5% of the formal economy as was his fathers day, he is closer to 13% now.

Company script used in the SDC mining towns don't count as money, saving him massive amounts on taxes, and while the SDC is cleaning up all of their illegal operations, they're doing it slowly; milking the cash cow while it's still available.

They are one of the largest pioneer companies; companies who send expeditions out to gather resources at their own cost, braving the Grim without any support, but in exchange aren't taxed on the resources they bring back; the assumption being, the Grimm already 'taxed' them enough.

And the company with the largest R&D budget, spending massive amounts on (tax credited) military-grade robots, as well as hiding funds in top secret military operations to avoid taxes; so the SDC may well own a tenth of the entire world.

Kalte had used company script to fight the artificial inflation created by power hungry bureaucrats. Replaced huge military build-up (the then accepted way of clearing an area of Grimm) with Elite Hunters supported by pioneering the first battle robots.

Was good enough to realise my grandfathers true strength before anyone else. He even was originally stronger than my grandfather, to the point that grandfather later admitted (to me) that he had been hesitant to become stronger than his best friend; that it took said friend noticing that he was holding back for him to truly surpass his limits.

Well the situation was a lot more complex than that-it involved the creation of the Schnee's second greatest quarry, one of the Greater Grimm, and acting that my grandfather said pissed him off-but in the end it was the words his friends used, and the respect that he had by not trying to demand anything of his friend, despite by the end of The Warwhen the quarry was built; Kalte was the world's richest man, and became it once again after giving up most of his mines to the Kingdoms. Of course, he also owned much illegal assets, which make the situation more complex, but it's pretty obvious which of two Schnee's are evil to everyone.

And I can use that. As long as it's bad for Eis, many people would try it. So in the future...

I will win.

* * *

><p>XXX<p>

* * *

><p>To continue my thought from another perspective, even without Elements I'm pretty strong.<p>

_Energy Bullet_, the 5 fingertip bolts of Aura technique that I wanted is strong enough to kill a low class Beowolf with each, and with my current INT, I have some homing capabilities.

_Energy Bolt _is cheap, literally down to 1 MP each.

_Spinning Energy Bolt_, a slightly slower bolt should be enough to kill a low class Ursa Minor.

_Javelin_, a compressed… javelin of energy that I hope to eventually make similar to a Lightsaber combined with a bomb should be able to kill an Ursa Major.

I've been able to use _Rip _while cooking; the skill I thought was useless because it didn't kill the Ursa Major, is really good for high speed cooking. Since the sudden force can combine with the enhanced DEX to continue to prepare, cook, and clean properly. It also has disarmament purposes on Human foes.

My meditation not only got stronger when I changed the energy to a neutral flow, but it's been getting stronger from my extensive use of Aura while cooking; due to need to use my breathing technique to recover MP afterwards.

And as my most used enhancement techniques, my _Basic Aura Skill _and _Energy Storm _just continue to rise.

So the optimum path for me to oppose the Grimm is both clear, unambiguous, and powerful.

But, for other people it works differently.

An ability to negate Aura means almost nothing against the Grimm; only Human Grimm like The Lady of the Lake have ability with Aura, and for the power of the being involved, it is very weak. Artus surpassed Water Elemental masquerading patron; forcing her to return to her original form of Leviathan, who crushed him, and forced Artus into a running retreat, eventually forcing him to sacrifice of most of the Arc family treasure heirlooms to manage a ʻdrawʻ-read:Artus died soon after, Leviathan took centuries to reform from a vast number of lesser Grimm; the Leviathan species took a large increase in size with so many powerful Grimm popping up from the ʻdeathʻ of such a powerful being-which honestly was the best you could except as a single person fighting, what, regardless of their origins, was pretty much a god.

But that same ability used as a policeman would be invaluable.

But the person in question may have had no desire to become a policeman and so quit with their Semblance being the final blow. That ignores the fact that you could do more to help against the Grimm by reducing Human to Human problems than you could as a Hunter.

The ability to see Aura combined with large Aura reserves could be motivation for someone who has no other ability to become a Hunter, or perhaps they quit and become a private eye.

The ability to breath fire sounds great, but if it stopped scaling up shortly after you got it; well Dust can pretty much replace your ability.

Someone else with the ability to create small fireballs, may find that enhancing their control allows them to become an artillery type Hunter, combining Dust with their Semblance to acquire absurd ranges from which to bombard Grimm with. But until you reach beyond a certain point, itʻs just a wimpy ability.

So taking College level classes is highly demotivating; since most people canʻt see and prepare for the characteristics of their abilities, itʻs like having an invisible skill tree in video games, you screw up and suddenly your character canʻt do anything right, all while having it shoved into your face that large amounts of other people are doing just amazing.

So the Councilʻs adapted. Entry tests got harder, number of places in each SHTI got smaller, and subsidies for the ʻbestʻ PHTI got ever higher. Signal became the greatest PHTI in Vale because itʻs course on weapon creation was popular. That gave them more resources, which allowed them to give an incentive to students; come here and get a free Hunter weapon, another source of envy for many people. Those who graduate from lesser PHTI tended to just use standardized Hunter Weapons, and only make a true Hunter Weapon in a SHTI.

The orphanages I'm partially funding; probably at least partially goes towards helping aspiring pre-PHTI students group practice with low-quality weapons, helping PHTI students have low-quality standardized Hunter Weapons, and helping SHTI students slowly and carefully create a Hunter Weapon.

Rich people can just outright buy the best equipment. Or afford to create equipment until they get something good. And that doesnʻt take into account how much higher the fees of a SHTI is after subsidies than a PHTI was. Since the schools are competing with normal Colleges, they now price closer to normal colleges.

Hunters make a lot of money, enough that a successful Hunter is middle-class. So a great deal of people probably wanted to become a Hunter for purely economic reasons. But the council took advantage of that with the Hunter ranking system.

The system ranks a Hunter between C to AAA rank by passing a multi-part test. But most of the points comes from direct combat. So it was a pretty transparent attempt to find out the strength and exploitable weaknesses of possible Hunters, and the council can control the Kingdoms.

I understand how having more Hunters would make people feel better, but they also had the negative effect of killing off the mystique about being a Hunter; something that shafted pretty much every single war veteran alive indirectly-on top of being directly since they chopped veteran benefits to pay for increasing the subsidies further when they 'had more demand than they expected'; something grandpa called bullshit on-and they even made the next level of Hunter advancement barely any better. Many towns outside of the epicenter of a Kingdom requires a C rank HEE to become sheriff. Towns that truly border the Grimm, far outside of the bastions of humanity, require CC ranks just as casually.

Many Hunter Trainees pass a CC while in a SHTI. Beacons entry test is actually modeled after the CC level HEE. So many motivated 14-16 year olds take and pass the CC exam, and that's ignoring the old families who can do it even sooner.

I could have passed the C rank exam after Ladies Night.

And, Iʻll most likely pass 50 before this full month is over so I could probably pass the CC exam before I turn 10 if I train correctly.

In industry, Hunters generally only consider CCC or B rank Hunters as ʻrealʻ Hunters. But the propaganda has helped morale deeply. Still, it means that Sieglinde would attract a great deal of attention if she takes the B rank test before sheʻs even old enough to enter Beacon. Which probably isnʻt the best idea… yet as the other responsible member of the family, I can't fault her for it either.

Still regardless of my continued bafflement on most things in life,

_Since I know how many cookies I can make, and how many I need to make… all I need to do is push buttons!_

November: Observation Journal

Day 1: Got heavier weights with loan money. Look stupid but going to become OP from cookie weight baking. Going to increase _Intermediate Soul Demise _to level 10 in case Nero recovers early and wants to go hunting again.

Day 3: Sales count and money collection has updated daily twice, maybe I can make daily predictions eventually?

Day 5: Started to train _Basic Grant Magic_, for the demonstration.

Day 8: Cookie Quality went down on midnight, so Business Inventory _is _weaker than anti-spoilage on normal Inventory. May hint at eventually gaining the ability to make weekly forecasts instead of monthly forecasts. Grew up again, actually had an accompanying growth spurt starting soon after this time.

Day 13: Dish Washing is OP. After level 51, it no longer needed soap if you have trace amounts of Aura spilling out from another source (i.e. Basic Aura Skill or Energy Storm).

Day 15: Reached 34,000 cookies in sales; prediction may have been overly pessimistic. Baked less extra cookies, so lost less quality overall.

Day 19: Finished Quest to send cookies to orphanages for the 20th, lots of reputation gain. Date of Ladies Night for November, very successful.

Day 20: Sales shot up, somehow Nero recovered after eating 101 cookies for good luck (seriously what happened!?); also gaining a level to 6. And yes, she did Awaken her Aura completely.

Day 22: Sales over 50 thousand.

Day 23: _Rip _reached level 51-it levels up extremely quickly but stopped giving noticeably stronger effects around level 10; may confirm pet theory that cruder skills = stop growing sooner.

Day 30: Sold 62,159 Cookies total. Level 67 _Basic Aura Skill_, Level 57 _Cooking_, Level 72 _Rip_, Level 25 _Energy Storm_, Level 63 _Craft_, Level 33_Basic Grant Magic_, Level 69 _Dish Washing_, Level 25 _Basic Ki Breathing_-now with the right flow has what I assume is base 20 MP/Min, (since it changed from 10 base + 9 for gaining 9 levels, to 38 MP/minute which is basically double)-giving me 44 MP/Min extra when I meditate.

Cooking slowed growth massively, so Craft surpassed it but both are slowing in growth speed, probably using too low level items to cheese my way to gain skill experience.

Stat growth:

**STR: +8**

**DEX: +8**

**VIT: +10**

**INT: +1 (from growing up)**

**WIS: +1 (from growing up)**

**LUK: N/A**

So I can keep selling cookies even when it surpasses my expectations rather than getting a stockout message, which is a real positive, regardless of the low profit margin on these cookies. I should be able to try for 100,000 during December.

I can even donate dark chocolate cookies, combined with sugar cookies for my orphans, since it's impossible to be truly good in Remnant.

_It's almost midnight._

5

4

3

2

1

* * *

><p><strong>Quest Alert<strong>

**Tycoon Mode: Spread Your Name! (1)**

**Jeanne Arc Industries is currently only known locally. Use the power of your mascot, paired together with the Internet to defend Remnant from the Grimm and sell more cookies!**

**[ ] Put on the uniform of 'Jeanne Jeanne' the companies mascot.**

**[ ] Go to training area.**

**[ ] Turn on recording equipment.**

**[ ] Slay 10,000 Beowolves with recording equipment on.**

**[ ] Upload video to the Internet.**

**[ ] Sell more than 120,000 cookies in a month after you unload your video.**

**Time Limit: 3 months.**

**Completion Award: Repayment of Loan, Special Female Mascot Underwear, Reputation Gain with all relevant factions.**

**Completion Failure: Bankruptcy, Temporary Freeze on using Tycoon Mode, Reputation Loss with all relevant factions.**

* * *

><p><em>Love you to Semblance.<em>

Just because last months forecast was 60,000; you want me to double it in three months.

December: is the best month for sales, but I would have to slay 10,000 Beowolves this month, something that may be possible alone, but not if I have to bake that many cookies at the same time.

January: Has no real chance of selling that many.

February: Has a chance, lovers seem to like smaller cookies; so maybe if I make heart shaped mini-cookies, and further erase my profit margin to spread the love-

NOPE

Semblance you will not get me into more random Harem antics.

NOPE you hear!

Hmm… wait…

It's like my Ladies Night quest, which made my month into _(by the end of the same month)_, rather than giving me a full month. Here it means I could release the video in February, after already having sold most of the cookies, then reach over 120,000 later. So I could prepare for 2.5 months, kill the Beowolves for the video really fast, then finish selling cookies.

So I just need to create high enough quality cookies that even with the decrease in quality they'll still sell. So if I adjust my production to create even higher grade cookies than I say I'm selling, I should be able to manage it. I can also use my inventory storage of _Basic Magic Cookies_to restore HP/Stamina/a tiny bit of Soul to work even harder if I run low on time.

Of course, this'll get me more known than before, and I'll need to increase the amount of free cookies that I bake for Ladies Night and the orphans. If I sell the cookies for the same price, but to raise money for the orphans increase the amount of money going to feed the orphans then that should also double as advertising right?

Buy one, and I donate 10 Lien to feed starving children.

Still I'll probably need to sharpen my Fangs more quickly. This type of attack will attract enough opponents that I may well be swallowed by the wolfs hiding among the sheep. Due to the education system, I would be willing to bet that many veterans have _Intermediate Aura Skill_; and the forecasting screen is just like knowing "The Gamer helps with all abilities", too dangerous to share with other people without setting something big into play; so without some excuse I'll have to limit my usage of it.

I would need multiple other sources of information, so that no one _really _knows where I'm getting the information from. I would need-

To use Criminal Mode wouldn't I.

…

..

.

Becoming a Villain during the most festive month of the year…

No I'm better off making lesser use of this information.

But then I can't sell enough cookies...

I need a distraction. Something else to sell the cookies.

…

..

.

*SMACK*

"Duh. I just need to make Jeanne Jeanne more visible." The answer is so obvious that I unconsciously say it outloud.

"Hmm? Who is Jeanne Jeanne; Jaune?" a melodic voice that brings to mind a clear stream asks.

**(The Storm of Flowers)**

**Lv 24 Lily Arc**

"Ah it's nothing special Lily." I say to the (two minutes) younger, of my four year older twin sisters. "I just was thinking about my cookie business again."

"Hmm." Lily quietly ponders before lighting up with a gentle smile like that of a blooming flower, "Jeanne Jeanne is your mascot then?" Then she placed a hand on her cheek while her eyes cloud over, "I knew you loved when I dressed you up! Let me help you out!" And she starts advancing on me.

_Oh sheep!_

"Don't swear Jaune." Lily stops while looking at me in pointed disapproval.

"I said sheep!" I say as I step back.

"But you were thinking someone else weren't you?" Lily gently admonishes me while looking sad, "Where did I go wrong with raising you." As her eyes turn mournful and the atmosphere starts feeling like a dull rainy day.

"I'll go with you! Just don't be sa-" I start out with.

"Alright then, escort me?" Lily goes back to her normal gentle smile while holding out her arm.

…

..

.

"You really take advantage of how similar you are to mom whenever you can don't you?" I say as I take her arm,

_Why doesn't a Gamer's Mind work here? Is it because I like spending time with her or something? Well I suppose it's fine._

Hmm… but that gives me an idea for the video...

* * *

><p>XXX<p>

* * *

><p>Two days later at Signal a beautiful young blonde-haired blue-eyed girl(?) who looks around 13 or so walks around with a slight smile on her(?) face.<p>

While it is a Saturday, numerous students still live at the dorm. With that being the case, more than a few friendly students stop by to ask if the young girl is lost, only to receive a single response.

"I am not lost at the current time, but thank you for your concern." with a curtsey and a smile. Giving off a refreshing feeling of innocence.

Internally on the other hand,

_You need to get over level 51 in Crossdressing Jaune. You can do this. Keep your eye on the prize and take another step. Even after being in here for two days, I still don't get how girls walk in such small shoes. And even though this isn't a shirt, it's still feels so drafty. And-just stay calm Jaune. You can do this. Keep your eye on the prize and-_

Soon the disguised boy makes his way to his destination and knocks on the door and waits.

"Come in." a voice says from inside.

Looking at the man in front of me makes me smile a bit wider.

**(The Unconquered Sun)**

**Lv ? Taiyang Xiao Long**

The strongest Hunter of a team of four of the greatest of their generation.

**Team TRQS.**

Taiyang Xiao Long, Summer Never Dies

Raven Branwen, Spring Will Never Come

Qrow Branwen, Autumn Leaves Flowing

Summer Rose, Winters Hope

Taiyang Xiao Long, originally an illiterate nomad, of the numerous tiny bands that come and go, regularly disappearing one day to never return. But he managed to save his band by Discovering his Semblance and Awakening his Aura simultaneously, and to burn through the attacking group of Grimm in a few moments, immediately allowed into Beacon a year early, without training on personal recommendation by Ozpin, made team leader, and while still a Beacon student managed to take down a Goliath; something beyond many Hunters in their entire lifetime, he did as a teenager. A man who mastered the most uncontrollable of elements, to the point that he could fully adjust the strength of his Semblance; something rare for an element of such volatility as Fire, whose wielders predominantly active their abilities with their feelings, than through control. The greatest Hero of **The Reconquista**, who with his team managed to create a distraction great enough to give time for Castile to be reconstructed using the last treasure of my namesake.

More importantly, he managed to convince grandpa to allow his grandpa's last treasure to be used. A Hero bright enough that he even managed to make someone as bitter as my grandfather 'give it another try'. Of course, part of why I'm no longer trying to become a Hero is because what happened after **The Reconquista**, but none of that is his fault.

"...Do I know you?" Professor Taiyang plays awkwardly fiddles with his short and scruffy blonde hair.

"We had a meeting soon. To make cookies?" I tilt my head at him.

"OH! I wasn't aware that-I mean of course the company name is...umm I like your dress?" A surprisingly familiar response comes out of the flustered blonde-haired mans mouth.

"Thank you." I say while channeling Lily, even wearing (don't think about it!) pure white panties.

_Gah!_ "If you were busy I can wait for you?"

"No no.. It's perfectly fine." Taiyang says while shaking his head several times, "I was just surprised that the creator of those cookies was such a lovely young lady. I have two daughters myself you know, so imagining them being able to cook like that in just a few more years-well it's beyond me." Says the now recovered man with a casual shrug.

_Huh.. this really IS similar isn't it?_

"People, especially children grow far faster than you realise." I say feeling a bit strange, "As long as you offer your support, they'll become far more than you'd ever imagine."

"Yes, yes I know." Taiyang says with a genuine smile as his eyes light up, "It's why I became a teacher in the first place."

And then we continue smiling at each other like morons for about 5 minutes, I even have the thought log saying **[Congratulations! You think of nothing like a moron for 4 minutes and 52 seconds]**, damned increase in sarcasm.

*cough*

*cough*

As we cough in unison while looking slightly embarrassed, I wonder if this was a good idea after all.

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Immense amounts of Aura is gathered, empowering over a dozen items with as many weaving flows. Parts are stirred with a squish. A fire burns brightly, while something is being ripped apart to fast for the eyes to see. Change. A neverending cycle; a dangerous juggling act. Growth. A sudden stirring evening out all the parts. Completion. A pan comes out with a small pan of circular pieces of baked flesh; the smell causing an immediate reaction, as the watcher helplessly covers his nose to endure the potent scent.

"And that is how I make magic cookies." I explain to Professor Tiayang, handing him over some _Basic Magic Cookies._

"Most impressive. I did not doubt that it would be "dangerous, difficult, and not yet perfected," as you implied, but…" manages the Professor before losing to the smell and starting to eat the cookies.

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"...This is amazing. For such a young child; no a most skillful young lady," corrects the slightly awed professor while frowning slightly, "I did not expect you to be a master chef." he continues with a shake of his head.

"I still have a long way to go." I speak demurely, _my cooking barely moved on to level 58 after all._

"I can make these cookies if I put in all my effort," I tell him seriously and mostly honestly, "But the way I see the world through my Semblance is a bit… different."

"I can tell how much Aura most beings within a certain strength difference have. An average fully growth adult has around 400 'pieces' of Aura that they could Awaken. This technique originally used 40 pieces. I needed to reuse this skill multiple times, perhaps 30 times while cooking. That meant using 1200 Aura pieces; an amount rare outside of mage-type Semblances; even in lower class Hunters." I give the background stats for a level 10 adult with 10 INT as well as make my skill sound scientific. "I've gotten better." I allow, "I can use the skill at far lower cost, though I _feel_that I can't get it below it's current 5, and I only need use the skill around 13 times now. So I can regularly create a small batch, yet a problem remains… I can't recover swiftly enough."

"I can recover around 40 pieces of Aura in a minute while meditating." I start with,

"So you need to meditate for half an hour." Professor Xiao Long interjects nodding his head thoughtfully,, "That combined with the actual cooking and cleaning time… it probably wouldn't be wrong to say that it takes you an hour? Since you said you slow cook these to create a single small batch of 12 cookies. In the same time… you could probably create…" the professor trails off not willing to guess on something so far outside of his expertise.

"360 of them. While my ovens are larger, so are my cookies. So I still use 12 on each sheet, I just can properly see to it that 10 sheets are cooking at once. With cleaning it takes roughly 20 minutes for each batch, so I have confidence in making 360 cookies in the same time."

Then getting into slightly dangerous territory, "I also am starting to expand into Fire, a subject Sir Xiao Long is most familiar in," I give a solemn nod to his status as the worlds greatest Fire wielder, giving weight to my single point in Elemental Affinity: Fire, from _Cooking; _probably as a combination with how I was using _Grant Magic_primarily to cook (leveling it to level 33, gaining half a second and losing 2 MP each level until I hit 5 used per cast); and possibly including my efforts specifically to treat Nero who has a Fire based title, as a possible future contract with a Fire Elemental.

"I see…" Taiyang says as he stares at me intently, "You do give off the feeling slightly. As a teacher I would be glad to help teach you if you ever need the help." he finishes seriously.

_He really does sound the same, except he's probably not bullshitting half the time like I do._

"For now, I feel… that I should do this alone" I start with, "But… I really am happy to accept your feelings." I say just as seriously as he did.

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"Anyway...if each cookie is worth 30 cookies then…?" Taiyang prompts me after another odd silence.

"To make it easy, let's say I can make 50 Lien profit on each cookie, or 18,000 Lien an hour." I start off with what I normally create, "Then let's say I need 19,000 Lien to make the same amount on Magic Cookies. That means 1584 Lien a cookie. Even if people could afford that…" I trail off meaningfully.

"It sends the wrong message," the professor starts off by saying, "You truly are HIS grandchild aren't you." The change in Taiyang Xiao Long's tone reminds me why he he earned the title of the Sun. Yet not a single change in the air. Not even a little bit of heat. And that is what truly makes me acknowledge that he is similar to my father as well.

Taiyang is the man who took _The Rebuilders _power,the last second defensive measure if something like the **Napoleonic Wars** of happened again, would allow the creation of a city sized fortress; to set up a new Kingdom should several fall like they did in that conflict.

The Grimm feed on negative emotion. The most negative feeling of Humanity gathers when their safe havens are torn down, leaving them in the darkness. So the greatest armies of Grimm have historically allowed Kingdoms to flourish for a time, bothered only by near mindless and mostly unspiked younger Grimm, while situating some of their greatest in the sidelines observing the exact defenses of an area. Then in a one fell unrelenting tide, millions of Grimm descend in an unstoppable wave, changing the shape of the landscape entirely.

Only someone like Julius; whose ability to partially copy skills was able to scale up to the point where he once managed to draw against Behemoth, one of the three greatest of The Children, would be able to take on such a Kingdom ending attack; or rather it's how he conquered the world despite killing off 3 million, and enslaving another 12 million; or nearly a fourth of the entire world population at the time. He took on over a dozen such attacks, including ones led by members of The Greater Grimm. Still despite the Arc family tendency to glorify it's greatest warriors, our family had a great number of builders and rebuilders as well. My namesake was one of the rare few who was one of the greatest in both fields. Building up (together with natural fortifications) a small Kingdom (including basic infrastructure) in one go was not beyond him. Putting it into an item though… left him in a coma for months, but he felt it worth it.

Only someone as passionate and idealistic as Taiyang Xiao Long would have been able to convince someone as cynical as my grandfather that their 'mad scheme' was worth using the last piece of Soul that his beloved grandfather left behind; and that is even before you take into account how the council had (according to grandpa) assassinated his grandfather, with Ozpin and his protege being considered solidly on the side of the council.

And I felt something of that force right now.

After a long pause I answer sounding calm and confident. "Yes I am."

"I'm glad to see that the next generation is doing so well." Taiyang manages to say, against my expectations completely. "You look surprised, I've always respected your grandfather, so it shouldn't be much of a stretch." Taiyang says with an easy grin.

"...I see…" I acknowledge despite feeling confused, "You are a bit different than I'd expect from his stories."

"I've been called an idiot many times in the past, so don't worry about it." He waves off my confusion with a laugh.

"Anyway, you are right about my resembling my grandfather. I took this path because it was the route most likely to save people, just like my grandfather would." I say nodding my head slightly, "Still, I should probably be going now, it was a pleasure to meet you Sir Xiao Long." as I curtsy and smile at him once more.

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"Yang and Ruby." the professor suddenly says as I am about to leave, "My daughters names are Yang and Ruby. Here, have a picture of them." he says floating over a single photo on warm air.

"I'll look out for them." I promise having fulfilled a pick-up quest that appeared after I had already finished the requirements once again.

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><p>Now that I have to become a battle and cooking mascot, controlling the Wind is absolutely my best bet. Even if it wasn't the fastest and most expansive of elements; something perfect for a mage with a lot of power, <em>it's near invisibility was huge. <em>

I was currently limited to killing 10 Beowolves at once, a strength insufficient to be a B Rank Mage.

So my plan is simple: Regardless of system mage Elementals will be strong, and Artillery has good synergy. With a storm added in, Jeanne Jeanne will shoot dozens of bullets at once. They'll all be fast enough to outpace most Hunter Rounds. Beowolves will die. The End.

To regen MP, I combined the principles behind _Basic Group Ki Breathing,_which was created by taking in Nero's flow. Nero's extremely active yet still Yin (female) flow, with _Crossdressing_, and my other disguise effect skills like _Stealth_.

I attempted to use my ordinary _Basic Ki Breathing_, while in full female gear; including panties. Started shifting a bit, while continuing to meditate. Then started to move slightly. Using the power of being 'more and more like a girl' as my crossdressing was gaining experience, to gain Yin, which is more pronounced in girls. Or basically, successful magical thinking; combining Arc (mostly Yang based styles), altered to use Neutral energy (a completely different system), with more bullshit; I named it _Battle Meditation _(B.M.) It's another skill with no levels, but it says it'll have 10% of the effect of it's connected Ki Breathing technique; which goes up to 25% when I'm using crossdressing. Still 24/7 meditation (though it'll stop functioning if I need to go all out) is huge.

_Basic Ki Breathing _also stopped growing quickly, but at level 30 this time, with the same weird 'gain every 5 levels rule imposed after that'. While I'd wanted to create a skill once I mastered the technique, I really need to get the Intermediate version of this skill if I want to have the MP regen necessary to pull this off.

So having crossdressing up 24/7, combined with using _Basic Ki Breathing _while moving as much as possible, was enough that I was able to reach that goal and some change before the end of December; happy Boxing Day to myself, from me.

The updated skill is...interesting.

**Intermediate Ki Breathing Lv 3: 2.63**

**Through skillful regulation of Ki, the ability to recover Ki is enhanced.**

**Large External Shocks will break Ki Breathing and cause you to fall into a state of Ki confusion.**

**Gains Special Effects at higher levels.**

**Gain additional 30 MP/Min.**

**Special Effects:**

**Gain 50% of 86 MP/Min. (43 MP/Min)**

Half the benefits of the old skill, and a gain of 2.5 MP/min rather than 2 MP/min like before. So by level 9 I'll surpass my old skill. Perhaps the bonus would have been higher had I taken a completionist attitude, but level 9 should be nothing. Even more interesting here is the fact that Soul Demise did not have inheritance; taking away most of my crackpot theory that I'm in a New Game Plus.

_B.M._ already gains 25% of 73 MP/Min or an extra 18.25 MP/Min.

As each 100 MP seems to add 1 MP/Min to my regen rate, even taking _Mana Affinity _into account, I don't even have 18.25 MP/Min, so the skill more than doubles my regen rate. But _Mana Affinity _helps out _B.M. _by 30%; giving me a true bonus of 32.5% of 73 MP/Min, or 23.725 extra MP/Min regen-nearly putting my (below very high) intensity MP/regen at over 35.

_Energy Bolt_is too powerful to use against a normal Beowolf now; it could possibly kill an Ursa Minor.

_Spinning Energy Bolt_is definitely enough to kill an Ursa Minor.

_Energy Bullet _originally costed 20 MP, but it now costs 5 MP and stopped; so as another simple technique it also stopped growing quickly. Each finger bullet started at 10% at first, now it's up to 19.5%, having gained .5% each level to it's current level 20, but it's now almost too powerful for normal Beowolves, so I'll see if I can use Wind control to further split the bullets.

_Focused Energy Bolt_-A Ursa Major definitely would die now.

_Javelin_-very fast (for a finisher), but equally expensive. The whole Lightsaber thing, combined with how I can keep it from detonating for a short, (and increasingly getting longer), while, makes it hold great potential; just not for Beowolf slaughter.

I even was able to sell 100,000 cookies this month; in addition to sending more to Ladies Night and the orphans. Now, my weapon-girl appears pretty happy, and I'm actually starting to get used to barely making money, I didn't even cry when a pop-up asked if I wanted to renew my support for… pretty much everything from Ladies Night; if I switch things up now I'll definitely not be able to sell enough cookies so yeah, more 25% post expense donations to orphans, for a full year this time. The positive thing though; that decision pushed me to Friendly to Neutral, a big deal for a large organization, and I may soon rank up again for some of the smaller groups that I'm directly buying products from; so the discounts are growing, and all without me having to negotiate a deal either.

Still, it's time to go Elemental Hunting; not that I expect it to be hard-how many sources of ancient information sufficient to learn an extremely powerful art of controlling the wrath of nature could there be-but if I don't start it now at the absolute end of December, or early in January, I won't be able to train the skill sufficiently if a hint literally means 'do a 10 part quest to acquire this skill'.

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><p>Now, my estimated consistent growth rate… even if I lowball it at 20x, I'll soon (relatively speaking) be able to see my Legendary predecessors level and stats. Because of how experience seems to work.<p>

In most non-super grinding games, the difference between 60 and 100 is maybe 5-10x experience. A veteran that reached their prime has maybe 30 years of experience using Aura.

If I gain 20 EXP *(.20 time) * .1 = .4x experience to get to 100, so somewhere in level 50's at the lowest.

While 20 E * (.25 T) * .2 = Enough to get to level 100 exactly.

So even without truly living and breathing battles, I can probably get a nice 75, with far more extra stats than any natural 75 has; being at a level where only Legendary and Near-Legendary Hunters, Potent Greater Grimm, and The Children are beyond me.

Which should work fine. _Dish Washing _is OP, it can be used defensively in attack deflection, redirection, and weapon disarmament;though the last would probably only be useful against human foes, though I still have limits. I also started buying rat poison, I got a title and a new skill from drinking it. If I get enough resistance, I can add poison to my style later; further expanding what I can actually kill, and for now, it acts as insurance against poisonous Grimm, and even more ominous corporate assassins that may soon be after me. Creating poison with a combination of Craft and Cooking should also be possible too.

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And depending on the Grimm, that may only work on humans too; still useful enough to do partially (resistance ahoy!) though.

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Still, I need to expand in less directions in Tycoon Mode.

Or else I'll end up creating even more attention.

As clothing and Shoes are probably the weakest link, I won't set up anything to do with them.

"For the Panties!" I cheer, "*smack* yeah this is pretty stupid." I say facepalming.

Still I needed that special underwear-It almost definitely boosts my ability to advertise an a mascot!- My competition will focus on it being a lucky break of finding a good mascot, rather than 'the owner can cook nearly 23 hours a day now, with inhuman speed, master class skill, and bending reality to have things cook faster than is realistically possible. All combined with the invisible perfectly efficient accountant/managers/delivery/other in a giant stew of random'-meaning as the owner I'll be free of suspicion as being special in anyway shape or form.

Similarly, as reputation gain was not stated, I can probably jack it up if the video is good enough. I can erase any bad publicity-including in enemy company taste testers-I may even end up counter spying instead.

Free estimated growth rates, geographic information, and so forth, is OP.

Rebates force the customer to think of your product again, and so push further sales; making offering a high rebate with a higher base price a legitimate market strategy if you can calculate your costs correctly. So I keeping that high is good, as long as you understand the cost of that strategy; something the vast majority of people don't.

And since both advertising and celebrity appeal are based on relevance rather than absolutes, even the Schnee Dust Company's (Food and Beverage Division) under Ol' King Cold is losing to me-I'm completely crushing my opponents in the organic field. My forecast is only including regular members of the market though, but in a large city like Vale the commercial market still comprises 81.3% of the entire cookie buying industry.

Those Huntresses put so much pressure on me to force me into making Organic Cookies; probably because most of the businesses I'm now affiliated with were created by retired/semi-retired Hunter or Huntress; they made lots of money Hunting Grimm, and decide to invest when they got old, figuring the skills that let them survive into old age would give them the skill necessary to survive the business world then getting steamrolled. Yes no place existed to cheap and good quality cookies; nor did any of the conglomerates enter the highest grade of cookies in force-the two major markets that Hunters tap into-but that doesn't mean that they could do it. Even those with an Information/Knowledge Semblance could only last so long, as producing more varieties of cookies increases the difficulty exponentially due to type of training. The best Hunters trained their short-term senses to the maximum to survive life and death battle. While they also had to be able to withstand a many day long siege, no Hunter-ignoring someone insane like my father-had the ability to keep fighting much longer than a week. Business Aura Masters tended towards the opposite specialty. Long to Super-Long Term Aura usage at very low to low intensities.

But that didn't apply to me. My Semblance took care of all the details, and I had business storage for cookies that did not sell-meaning I could produce and have in storage a large variety of cookies that stayed reasonably fresh due to my power, I had almost no delivery time a, Ladies Night made Jeanne Jeanne a minor star as a mascot, and Vale has no clear market leader unlike the other 3 Kingdoms which are each home to a an HQ of a powerful cookie selling company.

Ol' King Cold, while being more focused on beverages, is to the North in Mantle-subordinate to the rest of the Schnee Dust Company-Pumpkin Pete to the East in Mistral; though they primarily sell their flagship cereal, While Dr. Piper is predominantly is a soft drink company, their Yoh-hoo Chocolate Milk goes well with the more plain varieties of cookies. They are worth several hundred billion Lien in assets, and make roughly a tenth that in revenue each year-and are actually the largest threat; good moo juice + 'not as bad for your health cookies' + low-mid quality ingredients in the cookies = easy to sell, cheap to make, and popular cookies-have their HQ in Vacuo. They got powerful by the focus after The War on health. "Tai Chi for health; Milk for energy." "Coffee is a drug; drink Milk instead." "Lose weight drinking (insert Milk product) as meal replacement!" "Beer started **The War**; drink Milk for peace!" And other more interesting sound bites.

Despite having superior capital and total sales, the Schnee are almost net-negative in the _cookie _business, so if I'm lucky I may not even have to take them on until I expand into Dust mining to fund my empire. And their ability is after all the bribes taking place behind the scenes that are doing away with the high tariffs foreign companies have to pay, and self-shipping to be cheaper; so once I get some of those advantages into play, I can really see myself challenging them someday.

_Which is the problem._

In every field I can see myself challenging the status quo. But what is the best path? Father wants me to find my own path. But I know (or at least know far more than even most lower leveled Hunters) how bad off the world is, and I have what to takes to do something about it.

Grandpa was born in the buildup before **The War** and so can see (to a certain extent as he was young at the time) just how many things have changed since the past. And so he can attribute everything to the councils, who changed the Kingdom system.

Father was born in the buildup before the **Faunus Rights Revolution**, which grandpa doesn't even consider a notable enough conflict to call a war. Father thus saw wars as a fight for positive change, that ended in failure because of inability to work together, unlike grandpa who saw wars as forcing negative changes onto the world as a result of a few wicked being working together.

So their views differ greatly.

"They probably were just drunk when they started building it the moment the final battle was won, so by the point the hangovers were taken care of a few weeks later, the statue was already far too complete to change. They most likely felt that the two people looked similar enough in their youth that they could get away with saying it was Jaune as a young man rather than Juane; the council isn't very big on manning up to mistakes." Father always has a boring mistake theory filled with drunk people, while grandpa has an interesting conspiracy theory with everyone playing on a big chessboard.

But regardless of viewpoint, the Faunus War was a success for the council; it made the Faunus feel slightly better about their crappy jobs, so it made them continue working in pathetic conditions without complaint for another decade at least. And even in the current day, the overall feeling of dissatisfaction isn't yet great enough for Faunus to have created even a single radical terrorist group; so things went back to being good for the council; they could just sweep their problems under a rug again.

So in my own view, I need more power, yet need to keep from being too noticed. But learning to control the Wind shouldn't contradict that view.

And while the power of Elementals will be great no matter what system it works under, I'm especially hoping for a certain famous case; the case of _Linear Warriors, Quadratic Wizards._

Of course, I see problems with that as well.

In a videogame, you, the wizard can react at the same speed as the thief whose reaction speed SHOULD far surpass yours.

But in the real world, if the thief has (100 DEX) compared to your (20 DEX), you won't even be able to see him move.

So maybe my abilities say 'per minute' or some other unit of time.

Maybe I even operate in ticks within that time.

But speed is still OP. The damage of _Rip _is weak; or rather it seems like it's meant to fight things without Aura, or things with light armor. DEX does not just control speed either, but precision as well. Which makes another difference in stats that I did not see immediately. Both a surgeon and a speedy Hunter would have high DEX.

STR seems to take into account both average, and maximum strength, as well as my inventory space.

The slim and pretty cousin of Taiyang was only about ~155 cm, yet had around the same enhanced by passive Aura STR as another ~170 cm weightlifter like lady. I'm pretty sure that the second lady is stronger, as I can see that her base STR is greater; so it's only the difference in Aura that makes a difference. And with the weight lifters mix of looks, as well as her fine control over the way she walks, I could tell that she was heavy as well; so it's not just looking like she has muscle, but _really _having a great deal of muscle as well. So in a passive boost from Aura only situation, I'd put my money on the weight lifter. Of course, skill makes a big difference as well, and it's not like people are fully wearing what their skills are either.

Now I did gain an 'Attributes' tab with _Observe_. It says things like (Martial Arts, Fire) for the cousin. But… Martial Arts is a really big field. She could be a master of Tai Chi and so not need that much strength, being a complete monster in close range combat despite her apparent STR, or only use the martial arts in self-defense when she can't just bombard them. The same follows other Attributes as well. And since it doesn't take active empowerment and abilities into account, someone could just have insane abilities-like 'Death Curse', that wouldn't show up on stats. I can Observe most items to get some idea of what they do, but how someone would _use _the item is something I have no idea about.

All the stats are that confusing:

STR could be used to carry large numbers of short fused bombs, which I use STR to throw far, and DEX to throw accurately to create someone with excellent ranged firepower. And since I appear to lose stamina based on weight relative to my maximum… if I get the two stats up high enough I could effectively fight at a low intensity forever.

VIT covers more than just endurance. HP allows me to laugh at most hits. Since only powerful single blows affect me (giving me a status debuff), I have no problem as long as my defense/HP is high relative to the blow. So the synergy of STR and VIT would be enough to farm weak Grimm forever, taking HP damage without wounds instead. Going heavily into VIT would let me LOL NOPE! most Grimm, as a eternal tank.

INT-MP and MP regen. But also thinking speed-meaning that I'm actually thinking more in the same time period; but it probably also involves DEX and my speed and reflex increase as well too. Seeing options (Knowledge) for long-term strategies are involved here. Changing society as a whole. More MP helps with resisting Aura as well; Aura defense gets stronger.

WIS-MP regen (maybe), Aura defense (maybe). Short-term tactics fall under this stat. But putting together information should also fall under here as well. Hard to tell based on how little I gained in this field.

LUK-Who knows what falls under this skill. Drop chance? Rare mobs? Actual games of chance? Crit rate? But I already have it really high, and I know that I that I was lucky taking on that Ursa, so this may be worthwhile in the future.

If he is as similar to me as I felt, I could probably look to Taiyang for tips. But yeah...

It's not like I'll meet a Royal Ice Queen wielding Water, Royal Silent Assassin wielding Lightning, Royal Battle Maniac wiedling Wind, or a Blonde-haired Prodigy of Fire easily.

And they still failed. So I have to actually do better than them or any other generation if I wanted to protect the entire world; which is why thinking about it here is something I should stop doing.

"But I have a weapon they didn't have!" I shout to myself in triumpth.

Basic Magic Cookie

A cookie forged through a mix of Soul Magic and notable skill at Cooking. Amazing cookie created by a chef putting their Heart and Soul into cooking in order to surpass their limits.

Stats limitation by lack of of 'Magic Cooking' sub-skill, weakness of 'Magic Cooking' sub-skill, and weakness of 'Cooking' skill have been partially overridden.

Restore 100 HP.

Restore 100 Stamina.

Increase HP regen by 1/minute for 15 minutes.

Increase Stamina regen by 1/minute for 15 minutes.

Slightly restore a damaged Soul.

Ordinary store bought bread restores 5 HP a slice, 10 for a tasty mid-quality roll, and 15 HP for a full baguette. So 100 HP is great. Roll (10) + Milk (10) creates a combo of a (50), but I think I can safely say it's easier for most people to eat a single cookie rather than drink two quarts of milk and two meal sized rolls.

HP gains quickly with each level. 25 at the lower ones, and 50 later. So you would think Hunters would find it useless. But that would be wrong. Most of an ordinary (non-tank Semblance) Hunters defenses come from their Aura. When active, Aura automatically acts like a MP shield; you take a hit and a chunk of the damage goes to your MP rather than your HP; just like mana shield in Diablo. So the actual damage they take is… ping damage. For me a normal weak stab to one of my lungs is still HP damage to me. After verifying that, I also noted that stabbing my heart is no different. So my Gamer's Body literally only breaks in the case of single extremely powerful hits, and even then only in status effects; but for 'normal' Hunters, even if they have a lot of HP, they still have vital points.

And with a larger sample size, I now see that a great deal of Hunters have lower physical stats, and higher INT than you'd expect from how they act. Of course I also noticed that most lower leveled and ranked Hunters also tend towards less than 10 WIS (which I assume is average), while most high level and high rank Hunters (or at least the ones that I could see at level 7 during the first Ladies Night, and the level 14 that I still was the next month delivering cookies for another Ladies Night) have at least 25 WIS. So I'm actually willing to be that the weakest of the matriarchs, would probably have at least 50 WIS. Mage-types tend towards affecting larger portions of the world and so I would actually be worried if they didn't have more WIS on average than their more physically based associates.

_Still this means one thing; VIT is lower, sometimes far lower, than you would expect._

That makes the stamina bonus useful, even to Hunters. Since a lot of what Hunters do is based on efficiency, while this 100 stamina is based on total effect. It won't be very useful for me if I stack VIT, since my invisible stamina bar will go to outright impossible levels if given the time. I can say with confidence that my stamina will surpass most Hunters regardless of what choice I make; Grimm punish long battles by sending in reserves, so no Hunter survives to be a veteran without being a Aura 'runner' or 'sprinter' in terms of consumption speed.

Humanity fights best in battles lasting hours.

Any Grimm beyond the weakest mooks can fight with no visible reduction in their fighting ability for at least a few days. It probably has something to do with how Grimm evolve. They most likely store energy to accomplish this feat; meaning that they can tap into it for a boost, or at least that's the theory grandpa advocates.

Grandpa may be grumpy but he's probably the smartest member of the family; hence why I'm not going to go see him until I'm at least level 51; to get his stats without him noticing something is wrong when we see each other.

Also, children have reduced stats; including HP. Even Nero had a reduced HP bar. And since the majority of elementary school children are level 1, with even a decent number of non-hunting training middle school students have below 100 HP; the cookie can cure anything but death for the average person. Also, should I further increase my skill to the point where I can unlock/discover _Magic Cooking, _I may be able to heal someone important, gaining me a large amount of resources in one go. Even if that's not the case, since it helps restore Soul, it suddenly frees me to use_Soul Demise _extensively. Of course the skill is dangerous; but if you take no risks during the safer portion of a game you'll end up regretting it in the most difficult parts of a game. And I can already see two paths opening up because of this.

Jeanne Jeanne is a magical girl. I can raise INT/WIS a great deal, while (as a cookie mascot) eating lots of cookies. Even if I get hit, as long as it doesn't exceed a certain level (which is getting more and more as I get stronger) I take no visible damage (though my clothing does lose some durability, it also appears to lose less the stronger I become as well; so my body appears to protect my clothing somehow too). So I can focus everything on artillery level mage attacks; making Jeanne Jeanne look far far stronger than she actually is.

Jaune Arc is a swordsman. By actually using _Aura Skill, Aura Burst, _and _Aura Storm_ I have enough movement ability and physical stats to crush most Grimm. _Rip_ (which I could actually use with high speed cooking) adds a more primal physical element that further distinguishes Jaune from Jeanne. My Soul adds HP based on both MP and VIT; meaning my increased INT indirectly adds to my HP; and with my using less MP intensive skills with Aura buffs I can actually take extreme amounts of damage since my MP wouldn't be used otherwise.

The second path is based not on Mage/Tank but on Summoner/Enchanter.

Jeanne Jeanne can use magic, but her main thing is drawing on nature's wrath. Elementals, created golems, necromancy; all of them have a place. Though the last one will probably have to be the most discreet, having minions is pretty much the safest course against most Grimm.

Jaune using the same INT with _Grant Magic_ would allow immense amounts of damage to fight like an elementally based thief. If worse comes to worse, I can always summon and run away. I would need more DEX in this path to make use of the short time that items stay enchanted, but that is honestly no problem.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages, but I can think of them later. I'm now almost 150 cm, so I can pat Lily on the head now, something that she both seems to like and dislike in equal measure, so the video will have even more effect; since I look even more the part of Alice, who tended to use illusions in her younger form (7-10), and who tended towards artillery with a (12-13) year old form. Her strongest mode looked about (15-16), but she rarely used it; hence why she's thought of as a loli more than anything else.

So all I have to do now is practice a bit before I go out to get my Elemental.

**XXX**

_Not the same._

As I fought my sister in the Arc families training room, pushing my new abilities to their limits before

embarking on a new quest, I felt it distinctly.

_I'm still thinking too much._

"Energy Bullet" my command sending five white marble sized bullets shooting from my out stretched hand.

A white blur; my sister, dodges all of the bullets with ease, moving to the side in a single side step before blasting forward in an explosion of gold.

With quick thoughts of _Energy Storm, Aura Burst _I attempt to roll out of the way of the Aura clad blur.

The white blur clips me, as I quickly reactivate both Energy Storm and Aura Burst in a slightly unstable explosion of white Aura, simultaneously preparing a third skill with my sword.

With _Power Strike_in my mind, I rotate my body to push all my momentum into my strike at empty air-

*BAM*as I hit the nearly invisible ball of compressed air I think,

_Nailed it, next is….-_and start to use my momentum from deflecting the attack to gain distance.

_Energy Bullet, Energy Bolt, Spinning Energy Bolt-_as the five marble shaped bullets, one palm sized orb, and one spinning melon sized sphere all fly towards… _empty a-?!_

_Shi-!_I start to think as I attempt to force my attacks to move another 90 degrees, while changing my sheath into a shield while think-activating _The Shield _and _Energy Storm, _with an additional usage of _Aura Burst_to deflec-

*SMASH*as the white blur hit me, I think,

_Failed, next is! _I rapidly calculate while being sent soaring, re-upping _Energy Storm _on instinct, while manually grasping hold of the ground with an _Aura Burst, _and then activating _Energy Storm _as I dig my hand into the pure white floor with a silent thought of _Rip_. As a living lawnmower I imbue my shield that came out of nowhere with Aura using a silent _Grant Magic _to quickly toss it towards my latest estimate of where my sister would be. As I continued skidding, I then sent forth a full speed barrage of Aura Bullets from both my hands like fireworks before it happens again.

_Maybe I could develop my usage of Aura Burst to the point where I can fly completely? It already is like a jetpack so- thinking too much!_

Sixty bullets, each strong enough to create a hole in a Beowolf are sent flying; I speed up my movements to make up for the slowdown in firing speed from overthinking, almost painfully aware of how much MP I'm wasting to force my bullets out faster, before spreading my arms apart in a throwing position; starting to create release Aura so condensed that it shines like a miniature sun; a wrecking ball forged in the shape of a throwing Javelin. Over a hundred MP focused in a few seconds; enough power to kill an Ursa Major; all given form and solidified with a soft whisper of "Javelin", as the Aura surrounding my body erupts like a white geyser of power.

_Is it enough? I mean she has that power!_

_Is it-shut up brain!_

Already facing firepower sufficient to stop the charge of a sleuth of Ursae, the white blur should lose to with the new expression of Aura capable of ending the Major leading such a group of Soulless bears in a single blow.

But…

"It's useless." coldly says my opponent.

Then in a single instant, my entire arsenal is swept away like trash before a storm, as an immense gale of condensed super high pressure air; destructive enough to obliterate the Ursa Minors and crush their leader simultaneously, is thrown in response.

And as I once more prepare all of my defenses, all of my evasive maneuvers, fully utilizing every one of my almost cheat level abilities, I think:

_Oh come on..._

*CRASH* a unintentional "Keh" is forced out as my lungs can't handle the sudden strain despite my Aura covering me.

I continue thinking

*CRACK* even as I feel one of my bones, _it may even be my funny bone!,_being cracked despite my continued use of Aura,

I continue thinking

*CRUNCH* and even as I am embedded into the wall feeling several more bones crack even with my last moment Aura Burst to lesson the crash,

I continue thinking

The sad final *thump* as I hit the ground leaving me momentarily vulnerable... is still not enough to stop my thinking, nor do I stop thinking as a golden sword is pointed at my neck.

With strong winds surrounding us, with only her being untouched by the winds as if blessed,

"Do you yield" asks a cold yet melodious voice, staring at me with emotionless eyes, as I stare momentarily entranced by her beauty.

"Will you yield or not?" asks the blooming flower of battle in front of me.

"...Ah.. Yes I yield." I say snapping out of my trance, without even a twitch.

_Why does THAT briefly stop my thinking, yet I can't stop thinking to use my skills naturally like against that stupid bear!?_

The wind dies down, leaving the room an empty whiteness once more, and the girl smiles brightly at me while extending out a hand,

"Here let me help you up, Jaune" smiles my sister Lily at me, as I soundlessly cast Soul Demise over the parts of my body that broke; though as I lost around two-thirds of my life, I only look better afterwards, as I take her hand with a answering "thanks" and smile.

..

.

"So how do you think I did?" I seriously ask as we continue to hold hands.

..

.

"Lily?" I tilt my head at her in question.

Before I'm suddenly pulled downward into her budding breasts.

_Huh?! This again?_

"Um… do you want a hug back?" I ask her moving my head to look her in the eyes.

"...Haa…. you really don't get flustered as easily now don't you Jaune?" asks the suddenly disappointed young woman, frowning in slight disapproval.

"Hmm..? But you do this all-" I start to reason with, having managed to keep a my face straight despite my feelings.  
>"Because you used to react." Lily interjects before I can finish my excuse,<br>"I did-" I attempt to refute,  
>"You did." She says clearly while smashing my face deeper into her chest<br>"..."_She has a point… But I can't just give it to her._

"Well?" She questions while continuing to hold me tightly.

"..."_Good thing I lose HP instead of-!_

"Jaune!" She demands squeezing hard enough that I _feel _my HP going down.

I then poke her in the side._My Semblance is so broken._

"Epp!" She quickly jumps back after releasing her death grip on my head, a blur of white once more, before fiercely pointing with one of her fingers, "Why did you do that you villain!"accusing me with the valiant tone of someone facing pure evil.

"I couldn't breath." I respond simply, looking slightly amused, while inwardly thinking as she freezes; probably from her feelings as a knight giving her a sudden surge of professional shame and embarrassment,

_Losing HP instead of air when unable to breathe, (so she can't force me to react by making me feel as if I'm running out of time anymore, while 'accidentally' interpreting my attempts to breathe air as doing something perverted any longer,) is also OP._

"Ah.." says Lily suddenly looking embarrassed, "Sorry about that…" responding politely yet sheepishly , despite appearing to think about something.

_While I can see emotions and other such things with my Observe, even that skill can't read minds. Then again, it could just take multiple levels of upgrades to work… well I can gain those levels naturally… they really are dangerous_

"Eh!? Are you mad?" Lily asks me looking startled.

_Huh? No I'm not mad… Wait… my expression showed again!?_

_It may really be that A Gamer's Mind is sentient enough to only help me during situations I feel are battles; the most powerful Semblances are almost alive so… maybe thats the case here? Still, she DOES look worried, and since we're about the same size..._

"It's fine," I smile at her, "I just was thinking more on what I need to do to grow," I continue on as I start patting her on the head, "As the only man among of the Arc family, I need to get stronger to protect all of you." I finish feeling properly brotherly, which was really hard to do so when four of my sisters were larger, older, and stronger than me.

_..Only three… well two since Lily and Arthuria are twins, to go. Just like dad implied; even if you're not going to be a Hero, you can still do Heroic things._

_.._

._Is that a blush?_

"Hmm…" she purposely says out loud to my suspicion, "How about we play 'doctor' before I give you your evaluation" Lily tries to tease me again, succeeding in making my face flush momentarily before A Gamer's Mind dispels it.

_Broken _I think as the perfect way to stop her comes to mind.

"Up top or down below first?" I ask to all appearances just as bored as before.

"What?" As I see my sister looks completely gobsmacked for the first time, I do a silent victory dance despite outwardly looking calm and neutral.

"Well apparently I did badly enough that you need to be put into a better mood before we begin." I carelessly explain with a shrug, "So do you want me to massage from top to bottom, or bottom to top first?" I requery her with a calm smile.

.._Maybe I should pat her head again?_

._No… Not sure why, but that'll probably annoy her._

"You really are a playboy" I see in subtitles from her muttering under her breath after a long pause.

_Nope; I have no margin on those cookies so I'm not rich. I am being responsible. And I haven't gone through puberty yet, so no problems on that end either. I need to do this quest if I want the resources to become a playboy… Don't think noting that will help her out any though..._

"Hmm… if you are experiencing that much stress, I can help you by… concentrating where it aches?" I continue seriously as if what I'm saying has no double meaning to it.

_They're the ones who started it… But this is somehow less fun than I remembered it to be…? Why is that? Teasing them back has always been fun. It got harder when my older sisters got powers, but I still kept charging in full force… Wait is that it!? Since I'm having trouble charging full-in because of thinking too much…? I liked being able to put everything into whatever Iʻm doing-_

"N-no that will be fine" as I succeed in making Lily blush. _Still, this won't work for long at this level; I need to upgrade my lying skill if I want to use it on someone else, still this is almost usable, next step; faking being less injur- Hmmm it just gets rid of things that will stop me from thinking like A Gamer. I did babble out some potentially incriminating things in front of Nero… so..._

…

_It really does seem to be connected to battle. Like using a game move that destroys a planet, but watching it have no effect on the actual game world? Something that happen-no something that only exists as a matter of viewpoint. Still a time and place for everything..._

"Alright then, how did I do?" I query once more, acting as if my pause was consideration in case she had anything else to say,

_On someone already flustered, 'Lying' is really OP; regardless of not being able to use it as well as I did against Now; well I can master those technique combos later on if I need to, for now I need combat strength for the upcoming fight.-It happened again..._

"Your power is great; you may have more Aura than I do, your instincts are good, and your hand-to-hand is strong; not just by themselves either; rather they all support your attacks as a mage greatly." She begins with the positive with a warm and wide smile, "But… you pause at weird places; especially when connecting techniques, and you tend not to listen to those instincts; probably thinking everything through instead." whilst ending with the bad news. "Oh and you jump around too much as well." she says frowning a bit, as if wondering where my bad habits came from.

If I was willing to answer her I would say video games.

_Jumping almost makes you invincible in some video games, so I really like doing it. _

_So… basically… You have power and book smarts, but you lack experience to make proper use of it? Like being Akuma with a crappy player versus Ryu played by a good player? Hmmm no, thats still arrogant; I need more stats to be Akuma. Since Jeanne Jeanne is a girl… maybe I should say that Iʻm Ingrid that is weaker than Bison, or Brigitte from that Atlas game since I'm going to crossdress?_

_Still... she probably sensed how fast I can regen MP, and so felt that she had to go somewhat seriously against me; could I have won even with her greater control..? No probably not. The difference is still too large. A Gamer's Mind lets me think everything through like someone playing a turn based RPG, rather than a real time platformer which is more what I should be acting like.-Hmm… maybe it's because my Observe is now level 21? Does it auto-activate to a certain extent to ensure that I always notice little differences? Wait… isn't this like having ADD?_

…

_.._

_._

_No I can still clear my thoughts decently if I'm given a bit of time, it's mostly combat that's being affected._

"So… seven out of ten then?" I decide after a pause, looking thoughtful and attentive despite only having been the first, and only in a way that meant being _inattentive _to her.

"What!? No thats not it at all Jaune. For your age you're definitely one of the strongest, and if you keep training you may even catch up to me and Arthuria…" Lily tries to reassure me with a smile.

"I meant compared to you and Arthuria being the ten's actually." I calmly correct Lily.

"..Ah… Well.." Lily blinks and seems surprised, "I suppose that…. sounds about right?" while staring intently at my eyes as if seeking something, "Yes.. that is about right." she concludes going quiet.

"I see." I nod my head at our now mutual consensus. _So I was about right on my estimates then._

"...Is it really a mage-type Semblance?" Lily asks me suspiciously with an odd gleam in her eyes.

"It's a mage type Semblance in the same way my namesake had a mage-type Semblance." I answer nonchalantly, my smile not wavering a bit despite Lily having just interrupted my thoughts as well as staring at me with enough intensity to nearly be a glare.

..

_.Unusually focused…?_

"So it's really powerful and multifaceted a Semblance then?" Lily concludes resigned, after a rather heated pause, seeming to give up on making me say anything more.

_Difficult...but perhaps two or three more times before she figures out my Semblance? I needed her skill-based style to use as a model create a skill-based mage style, so it can't be helped... _I think as I stare at her blankly, as if the answer to what she's asking is obvious. _Still… my preparations are complete. I'm ready to go advertise!_

**Dish Washing**: Level 88, new highest leveled skill. I can now apply it somewhat to cleaning other things as well-case 1: Nero didn't want to take a bath, case 2: Siglinde needed her weapons shined quickly for a duel at school, case 3: Now fell into the cake, that I made to make-up to her for giving away her cookies at Ladies Night, so I needed to clean her quickly without stripping her; still from her scream, red face, and quivering legs afterwards it seems painful. Maybe she's just more sensitive? It didn't seem to bother Nero all that much…. Maybe I should test it on Lily since we just fought? Is a great skill for speeding up product creation.

**Primary Purpose**:Expense Management.

**Cleaning**:39, I haven't been able to double level this and 'Dish Washing' at the same time, so results are mixed. Another great skill.

**Primary Purpose**:Expense Management.

**Fools Act**:Appears to gain a tenth every level, currently moved from 2 seconds to 3.2 seconds at level 7. May be worth it someday, but not yet.

**Primary Purpose**:Crowd Control(?)

**Lying**: Level 11: 7% at level 3 moved all the way to 15% increase in lie effectiveness, decrease in reputation loss when caught lying is now 7.5%, and increase in lie acceptance rate is now 3%.

**Primary Purpose**:Social Skill

**Basic Disguise**:While it's primarily been used with a separate skill, _crossdressing_, I now at least have this skill-when I wanted to separate Jeanne Jeanne from myself I ended up learning this technique. Level 11 only though, compared to Crossdressingwhich just hit level 51-it even says it has special effects now, saying that "the disguise is now perfect"whatever that means, Stealth is also useful here, but that skill more helps with not being noticed.

**Primary Purpose**:Business Skill

**Killing Intent**:Still level 17.

**Detect Blood Thirst**:Now level 23-my sisters as scary.

**Intimidate**: Still level 27.

And all 3 of these are Social Skills as well.

**Physical Endurance**:level 14… no with that final hit I seem to be 15, and still .25 per level, so it adds 14*.25 or 3.5 to the original 3% to get me 6.5% decrease in damage from physical attacks.

**Primary** **Purpose**: Damage Mitigation.

**Observe**: It's level 21 but while it now gives attributes, status, background, and emotions-it still is missing that bit on weakness(es), or rather it doesn't always seem to work; seems to work less on stronger people-so probably leveling it up more will allow me to see stronger and stronger people in detail, and with that I've been observing everything.

**Primary** **Purpose**: Battle Skill, information gathering skill as well.

I have a bunch of other skills, but none of them should be important to my current activities-I haven't gotten an assassin yet, bike riding doesn't mean much when I have no where to actually travel to, and other such things like that.

Anyway, my current strength is good, and my potential seems limitless. It hasn't even been half a year since I got this Semblance but I'm already years ahead-but this is the easy period, so I'm well aware that I can't let this get to my head.

That's why I need to get minions. Minions who can make up for my lack of strength. I have the tools, but lack the experience, yet I have enough other things to do, and persistently think so much when I fight that I'll never be a true match for people of the same level, stats, and skill ranks as I am; so I can't afford to get arrogant.

Still, if enhance my magic with Wind, it'll increase the speed of my magic, and amplify it to high enough levels, I really should be able to fake being at least as strong as Lily and Arthuria now.

_Still I have something more important to do right now._

Lily is incredibly skilled, has the greatest combat instinct among my sisters, is smart, and quickly counter anything used against her. I started off being able to use _Focused Energy Bolt_, but the third time I used it… she almost knocked me out in a single blow in retaliation, showing off just how long that attack took to charge. I needed to combine _Basic Aura Skill, Aura Storm_, and _Aura Burst_ to overpower her own _Aura Skill_, could only barely hold on against her _Aura Burst_, and was nearly helpless when she started using her Semblance.

But… giving her the same 'are you kidding me stare' without blinking as I thought; an ability that _A Gamer's Mind_ allowed me to accomplish-is creepy as hell, so I can't over do it.

I break the silence by saying,

"Anyway, let's clean up." flashing her a smile after returning my expression to normal, "I have something that I want to try, another 'result of training', so let's take a bath together."

"...Pervert." Lily deadpans at me.

"Hmm?.. Ah.. No I meant that," I get flustered and start to babble before _A Gamer's Mind_ crushes it down, "I was training my ability to clean with all the cookies I was making, so I want to see if I'm better at cleaning now. I already asked Nero and she seemed fine with my fast cleaning her, but I need to see if I'm good enough to handle the more sensitive body of a woman as well. Nothing perverted about it." I reassure her honestly, while hoping I'll still be fine after I reach puberty.

"...Hmm.. while it's not as fun now that you don't get embarrassed, I am glad you've finally acknowledged that I am a woman, rather than a girl." replies Lily with the smaller, but gentler smile, that she tends to use while feeling really happy.

**XXX**

As I stare at my newly equipped title I wonder if the world loves or hates me.

**(Perverted Lady-killer)**

**-Obtained by making over 50 girls faint using amorous means.**

**-You have a special talent and interest in being a Eroge MC!**

**-Continue to excel and become a Master Lady-killer!**

**10% attack/defense bonuses versus female opponents**

**10% additional attack/defense bonuses versus female opponents in social combat**

**40% additional attack/defense bonuses versus female opponents in sexual combat**

**+10 to all stats when fighting women**

**Increased reputation gain with women by 20%**

**Decreased reputation gain with men by 10%**

**Increased reputation gain with men with the 'Pervert' attribute by 80%**

**Increased sexual drive by 300%**

**Increased stamina by 60% when affected by increased sexual drive**

**Increased encounters with Grimm by 30%**

If I had to guess, my experiment with _'Advanced Organic Cookies'_, combined with _'Basic Magic Cookies'_ ended up making a few overly sensitive people faint. Good thing I only produced 100 individual cookies-I even made it a special thank you to my most loyal customers, ahead of time for a early New Years greetings; or rather my Semblance only tells me the top 100, so I must have made at least a few of them faint.

And with my sisters… all 'mysteriously' deciding to take a bath with me (I call bullshit on that), and all being curious after I speed washed Lily and she fainted…. well Arthuria didn't last any better, but I wasn't able to tell the problem, and while I had a bad feeling with the _sounds _Rowan made as she fainted, I couldn't deny Sieglinde…. and she confirmed it by enduring it and asking me to do it again…

_Seven._

_Different._

_Times._

And while she made sure to stay in the water… I'm not blind, so I now know exactly why Nero was unaffected but all my older sisters were affected.

This is like a few years back when they had me learn chest massaging technique to help release tension, I honestly think it may have been that rumor that having a boy do it helps increase chest size, so no more dish washing for them. And once my little sisters start showing signs of… enjoying themselves too much, no more for them either. Luckily, soon I'll be old enough that none of my sisters will even want to take a bath with me, and since boys go through puberty around their mid-teens, I won't have to worry, my youngest sister will be old enough to not want me around before then.

The title is too useful to expand my sales though. If I can increase my market coverage, I should be able to sell enough cookies.

But even _this _shows why I need minions. I need people around so I can escape that sort of situation by pretending I have some other pressing concern.

***ding***

With that final ding I am (temporarily) free.

An extra 40,000 cookies while I go search for Elementals should be plenty.

I'm wearing my crafted chef gear:

**Head: Cook Hat (It's crafted as part of a set that I unlocked)-Increases gain in cooking skill slightly.**

**Neck: None**

**Ring: None**

**Shoulders: Basic Cooking Apron (Set)-Protects against fire (low)**

**Body: Basic Uniform Upper (Set)-Ordinary White Uniform-Resists stains.**

**Back: None**

**Arm: Basic Oven Mitts (Set)- Protects against fire (medium)**

**Leggings: Basic Uniform Lower (Set)-Ordinary White Uniform-Resists stains.**

**Arm: None**

**Weapon: Basic Cooking Knife (Set)-Speed boost to cooking.**

**Boots: Basic Uniform Boots (Set)-Ordinary White Boots-Increase movement speed while cooking.**

**Shield: None**

The set bonus when all of these are in place is a bonus to cooking speed by 10%, a major advantage literally allowing me to start cooking quality products in a time that (even more) shouldn't be humanly possible; and don't ask me about how my separate Cooking Knife speed boost somehow helps me to a certain point regardless of actually using it or not.

When I auto-put on the mascot uniform though, (from a special tab in my inventory-at least it's not stealing inventory space), I get this.

**Head: Basic Blue Ribbon (Set)-Resist Magic**

**Neck: Basic Heart Necklace (Set)-Resist Magic**

**Ring: None**

**Shoulders: None**

**Body: Basic Uniform (U) (Set)-White and Blue Dress-Enhances Charisma**

**Back: None**

**Arm: Basic Ladies Gloves (Set)-White Gloves-Resists Stains.**

**Leggings: Basic Uniform (L) (Set)-Knee Socks-Enhances Charisma**

**Arm: None**

**Weapon: None**

**Boots: Basic Uniform (S)- Blue Slippers.-Resists Stains.**

**Shield: None**

No weapon since Jeanne Jeanne is a mage (I probably need to earn a weapon at a later quest)

And the set bonus reflects that.

Further enhancement to Charisma

And increases magic damage by 5%.

It also has a surprisingly high defensive value, despite being basic, it actually surpasses my Onesie. So it's very magical.

So yeah, the Beowolves are completely and utterly screwed.

Now if only I could perfect the art of slapping somehow...

The original Alice, while starting as an illusionist, later became an Artillery-type mage of the highest order, often partnering with my namesake who could defend her, allowing her to bombard whatever they were fighting at the time. That the Arc family in part probably descended from a dalliance between the two is also something that was rumored at the time so, as long as I'm not a complete copy, I do have the right to use her name.

The storybook version used far simpler illusions but prominently had a knife.

So I need to combine the two concepts along with the legendary leadership abilities of Jeanne d'Arc to truly make this character my own (and avoid lawsuits for patent infringement).

Using the hint option in exchange for doing a quest, specifically a quest for the Elemental, which shouldn't be too hard… I mean Elementals won't think like humans, so if I have to do something to help them out it will probably be something that I can't even think of, and so won't have any trouble doing when I hear about it, plus I can learn what she, (or at least beautiful females is the common perception of many Elemental systems), actually likes and gain reputation from her more quickly.

After all, it's always easier to gain power by borrowing from others than creating from scratch. I really hope that is still the truth in regards to Elementals as well, as if it is not the case; I may gain another less than optimal 'party member'.

Do you want to buy a hint to finding the skill "Basic Summon Elemental" paying by taking a quest from the Elemental that you summon?

"Yes." I say as seriously as I can while wearing girls clothing.

…

..

.

"Crap.." I say as my map gives me 10 different locations that will help me find the skill.

**XXX**

After scouting out all of the locations, I came to the conclusion of where I wanted to go.

Six led to large mansions in the richer districts of Vale; so they are probably in someone's private collection (perhaps the person got rich by being better at manipulating a natural born elemental Semblance and could teach me; but it's best to assume that it's dangerous), 1 points to the library-the one that I am still banned from (six months being sufficient to make certain it'll be illegal until AFTER the quest is over), another leads to a club-so it's probably the front for something illegal, and the remaining 2 point to bookstores.

Naturally I've marked down all the locations for the future, but the one that I'm actually going to is definitely one of the bookstores.

The first one is quite large, and has an employee working rather than an owner; so I probably won't be remembered. But from going in to skim I saw that the book was in the back-meaning it's probably part of a 'for valued customers only' collection in the back; a major hurdle to jump.

The second one is quite a bit smaller, run by a friendly owner, and appears as if it has a large number of useful books-or at least books that count as instructional enough that I could use them as skill books.

The only problem is that….

**(White Fang Member)**

**Lv 24 Tuskon Mayes**

_That guy obviously has enough training that he will definitely remember me._

Many people think badly about all the protesting these guys do, but the White Fang is one of the most peaceful Faunus Rights groups around. But peaceful or not, this guys level is high enough that he may actually have rank inside the White Fang; and getting the attention of anyone who may even theoretically want to sponsor Jeanne Jeanne or some other nonsense is just a bad idea.

Still between becoming a thief in one of seven different ways, entering a place that may arrest me, getting involved with somewhere that is likely illegal, and being remembered by a peaceful protest group; the answer is obvious.

And so I approach the friendly looking but quite muscular man with blackish brown hair and hazel eyes, who is potentially a former member of the Reconquista (judging by how his name is derived from an Iberian name), and is probably far stronger than his stats (actually pretty low for his level) and level (higher than my nearly level 15, level 14 by 10) would indicate; with him ominously being dressed in a very inconspicuous short sleeved beige shirt with black accents with a white undershirt.

"How much is this book, Sir?" I ask offering a book to the counter politely (still dressed as a girl).

"5000 Lien. Still, "Liber de spiritibus: Sylphis", one of Paracelsus's four books? Huh.." starts an amused sounding voice, "The subject matter is a bit complex even for adults, are you certain you don't want a simpler book?" ends the voice more seriously, while looking me over with gentle concern.

I shake my head.

"No Sir." as I smile politely at the dangerous person in front of me, "My Mage Type Semblance is strong enough that more accurate books work best for me. Simple books that have lost the essence of the original masterpieces provide an incomplete picture, causing… problems." I reveal the public version of my Semblance , (learning from my good study habits from the time that I just had a high natural INT, working together with my current greatly enhanced INT), to get the conversation over with quickly.

"Oh my." he says sounding a bit started, "So you are a future Magical Girl then?" he finishes with another gentle smile.

"Jeanne Jeanne is already a magical girl actually." I say noting that I'm a mascot, "I just am studying further ways to do my job better."

"Hmm… I see," he starts looking contemplative, "Would you show me?" he finishes while looking at me seriously.

***ping***

...

..

.

"Huh?" I blink looking confused (and hiding that I was alarmed).

"This series of books are quite dangerous in the hands of people who are actually aligned to an Element. I saw it back in Iberia when I wasn't much older than you. A powerful storm created by a young witch of great power. One that caused nearly as much damage to humanity as it did to the Grimm at times." he speaks of something that is classified.

"...Summer Rose?" I venture out a guess at the identity of a Hunter who could be considered a storm controller at her strongest.

"Hmmm.? You recognize that name." blinks Tukson looking astonished.

"I am the mascot of a company associated with the Arc family." I decide to reveal with a shrug.

"Ah!" twitches Tukson quickly looking around in a way someone not trained wouldn't have even noticed, "I see… so that family got another Elementalist huh?" Tukson softly says while looking slightly lost in memories.

While I am curious to know what he is referring to, I finally distracted him enough to read the quest pop-up.

**Quest Alert**

**White Fang Quest: Show Tukson a Good Time!**

**As a child Tukson witnessed the Faunus War, and later as young man fought in The Reconquista. Because of that, regardless of his level and appearance, the man has a great deal of true battle experience. Show off your control as a Mage to earn both the book you want and the lesser known complete edition that isn't filled with made up propaganda!**

**Completion Award: 100,000 EXP, Increased closeness with Tukson, Increased closeness with the White Fang, Book: Liber de spiritibus: Sylphis, Book: Liber de Nymphis, sylphis, pygmaeis et salamandris et de caeteris spiritibus, Open up White Fang Quest line.**

**Completion Failure: 10,000 EXP, Decreased closeness with Tukson, Other depending on degree of failure.**

_Hmm with how close to 15 I am, I should get quite far within level 16._

If that's the case…

"I accept your offer." I interject before I lose him completely.

"Huh..?" Tukson intelligently responds with.

"I accept the terms of your trade." I elaborate, "Iʻll show you the my magic in exchange for the book." I say seriously ending with yet another slight smile.

"...Ah right. Sure then." Tukson starts, "Show me what you've got."

"I will do my best" I say starting to gathering Aura to my fingertips, gathering them into balls in the middle of the store,

"Wait-!"

I release the balls and begin to juggle all ten of them.

"What-?!"

Then I start to dance, using what would normally be my sisters side of the dance, which decreased my skill slightly despite my practice in 'girl' movements to be a good mascot.

But… it didn't matter. Even in a dress, I survived seven sisters, several 'aunts', and dozens of female cousins.

"That-!?"

Then I activate the full force of my _Basic Aura Skill_, becoming engulfed in a powerful full body enhancement and start moving even faster.

"Huh.."

Suddenly I'm juggling 20 balls, while continuing a dance at speeds a normal person would be unable to follow.

"..."

Then I toss out all of the balls in a spin.

"!"

Before shooting them all down with a soft "Aura Bullet", which allowed the first incantation to be faster than the second incantation in my mind; allowing me to accomplish the feat of hitting down all 20 marble sized bullets at once, ending my motion in the perfect position to curtsy; which I do while smiling enigmatically at the startled shop owner.

…

..

.

"Alright. I'll let you have it." Tukson agrees after a short pause.

_I wonder what he was thinking_

But outwardly I give no sign to my thoughts instead cheerfully thanking 'the very nice uncle' for the two books before leaving.

I can't look for any other Skill Book there for a while now…

Still I gained enough EXP to gain a level, didn't use _Aura Storm_or _Aura Burst_; simply using ordinary Aura manipulation techniques; just taken to high levels with my non-combat level of control using _Cooking_.

_I'll look at the completion screen after I'm far away from him._

..

.

**XXX**

**Quest Alert**

**White Fang Quest: Enforcer Adam Taurus **

**You succeeded in impressing Tukson with how much how little effort it took you to complete his test. As a reward you've gotten 2x reputation with him, 1.5x reputation with the White Fang, and one of the White Fang's enforcers coming to test the true extent of your ability!**

**Fight the enforcer to prove your worth!**

**Victory:**

**Completion Award: 2,000,000 EXP, Increased closeness with Adam, Increased closeness with Tukson, Increased closeness with the White Fang, Open up 'Independent Contractor' Quest line**

**Completion Failure: 1,000,000 EXP, Decreased closeness with Adam, Decreased closeness with Tukson, Other depending on circumstances.**

**Defeat:**

**Completion Award: 500,000 EXP, Increased closeness with Adam, Increased closeness with Tukson, Increased closeness with the White Fang, Other depending on degree of loss.**

**Completion Failure: 50,000 EXP, Decreased closeness with Adam, Decreased closeness with Tukson, Other depending on degree of defeat.**

"What?" I stare at the screen blankly.

He found it _more_impressive that I made the show _short_.

And how exactly do you 'Fail' at Victory, without an automatic 'Succeed' at Defeat?

…

..

.

*smack* Duh, _a DRAW._

..

.

NOPE.

If this 'Adam' is being called, he must be stronger than Tukson. As an enforcer he should be at least be comparable to a B or BB rank Hunter; around level 40 at minimum.

If I can't take Lily down, and this guy is at probably stronger than Sieglinde… If I assume he has 5 extra levels of stats as a man in his 30's; someone old enough to have earned such a coveted position in an otherwise peaceful group-something that stinks of being family/friend to an inner circle-then he should have the stats of at least a full grown level 45.

That's 60 base and 220 more points for 280 points total; regardless of how he acts, probably around a 100 of it is in INT, 50 average in each of STR/DEX/VIT, 20 in WIS, and 10 in LUK; similar to those Ladies Night Hunters. No he probably has more LUK if he has such an illegal sounding title… but he could have more extra stats having to constantly deal with the high intelligence of other Humans on a daily basic…

…

..

.

The conclusion doesn't change.

Even a draw is impossible.

Fine. Then what are my options then?

Fail too badly…

'Other' could mean 'Early Death for Wasting the Enforcers Time', since he's not a recruiter but an Enforcer.

So I have to fight back, yet lack the power to come even close to a draw.

..

.

*sign* I guess the only option is to rely on these books.

At least both copies will give me the skill, through the ranks are different.

Should I live I can copy down the full version to teach to my mage-type sisters once I get good enough.

But that is the future.

Now I just need consume the propaganda version, summon Sylph the Wind Elemental in a deserted area, and fight hard while getting the beep beaten out of-

WAIT…

_I can't do that either._

If this 'Adam' wins by a deep enough amount, and doesn't see damage accumulating on me…

He could continue until I die.

Or worse. Discover _A Gamer's Body_and make me wish I were dead.

So I need to get an even closer lost so he doesn't kill me.

But I bet he's like twice Tukson's size, made of muscle, and only communicates through grunts!

And smell bad too!

…

..

.

I do believe thats a sign, proof that I've been crossdressing too long.

Well can't do anything about it.

Lets just hope Sylph is strong enough to help me lose gently.

_For defeat!_

**XXX**

Back in the white room huh?

Thinking about it clearly, since the main problem is time, I can just stay in the training room for a few days. I already baked extra cookies as a precaution if I needed more time after all, might as well use it. I'll cheese him by not leaving the house in order to lose properly; since I have 5 points to spend, I can decide what to do

**Basic Elemental Skill (Active) Lv 1 EXP 1.56%/MP 50**

**Summons the Elemental in it's most basic form.**

**Long ago, humanity realised the might of nature and so attempted to wield it.**

**Eventually, they were able to communicate with, and summon the elementals to summon them. **

**The Elemental's form will change as the caster's INT, skill level, and affinity with the Wind grows. **

**Strongest form you can summon: Wind Elemental Lv 1.**

While the skill description is a bit strange, I'm just happy that I start with 10 affinity for wind just because I ate the book; and level 1 means it's unlikely I'll be betrayed.

I made sure to create 5 fresh _Basic Magic Cookies_as an offering on each of the points of the Pentagram in the middle of the room; 5 pentagrams providing the points for a super pentagram.

The ritual is really simple too.

"By Ancient Contract I call forth, Sylph, to come and play!"

…

..

.

"Oh? A human is summoning me?

Sylph appears!as catchy music starts to play for a moment.

Without preamble a small fairy like girl appears in front of me.

**(The Wind of the World)**

**Lv. 50 Sylph**

In mostly green, with her long grayish-green hair reaching below her waist.

If she wasn't around 15 cm-no closer to 20 cm, it appears she still was growing-then she would have normal sized breasts, so she's not like Now.

But for some reason…

She feels similar.

"If you are Sylph, Elemental Spirit of the Wind, then that is the case." I hedge while wondering why the feeling I'm getting from the two is similar.

"Yes. I am Sylph." the tiny Spirit smiles at me, "Do you require something from me?" she continues with a wink and a widening smile.

"I do. My true name is Jaune Arc." I say seriously using the same style of speech, "I wish to contract with you, as a summoner." I continue with a kneeling bow, "But before that, please accept these offerings." I say pointing the cookies on the Pentagram as well as carefully.

"..."

…

..

.?

"COOKIES!" the Elemental suddenly cheers, "Yay cookies cookies cookies!" flying in circles happily.

Why is she acting so…

Wait…

Wind = Free

Wind = Fast

Wind = Powerful

_She's like Nero._

Crap, I summoned the wrong one.

…

..

.

Can't get a do over now.

Have to continue.

Meanwhile the tiny spirit somehow ate all 25 cookies, each nearly the same size as her.

"A girl who could create such a life filled offering can't be evil." The too-late-to-change-my-impression back to being calm Elemental notes, "But the power of one of the Four Spirits can't be given to a weak person." she continues, "...Rather, the weak cannot master the power. Therefore, I shall check to see if you are worthy of my power." she ends sounding slightly sad.

**Quest Alert**

**Elemental Quest Quest: Prove your strength to Sylph**

**As Ruler of All The World's Wind, Sylph has seen many promising young people try and fail to use her power. Hit her once, proving yourself worthy of being her summoner! **

**Completion Award: 150,000 EXP, Increased closeness with Sylph, Increased closeness with Elementals, Contract:Sylph, Open up Elemental Quest line, Other depending on degree of success.**

**Completion Failure: 15,000 EXP, Decreased closeness with Sylph, Other depending on degree of failure.**

_Looks like if I succeed this I'll get another level, I say, thinking about my already partially filled level. Too bad Wind pretty much rules dodging, so I'm going to fail._

"I accept any test you feel necessary." I solemnly swear despite inwardly feeling depressed.

"I shall test you in a fight. If you can land a single blow on me, I'll lend you my assistance." She continues while lightly smiling.

_Yep.. and at level 50 this is going to end with me running around like a moron isn't it?_

"I will concentrate all my speed, to land a hit on you, oh great spirit." I say bowing again from my kneeling position.

"Then… here we go!"

A cool wind blows through the still room.

Forming a wall of wind around Sylph.

But I ignore it and continue kneeling delaying the pain.

…

..

.

"Hey, aren't you going to attack already?" Sylph questions, "Using this technique makes me tired, so hurry up and give up.~" then cheerfully says something stupid.

…

..

.

_She's an airhead!_

"I apologize. I was unaware that we had started" I say, secretly maneuvering my screen to implement my plan, before finally standing up having implemented a small change., "As you are so strong, I feel that a great need to strategize in order to land a hit on you is neccessary." I phrase my statement on a hunch.

...

If she really is getting tired... I silently _Observe _her seeing her MP going down.

Then I slowly start to buff myself with my longest lasting HP regen. buffs, the ones that even if I had minions, would normally be too inefficient in terms of MP, to actually use in combat, while starting to meditate.

"Your attacks will never hit me." Sylph brags but looks at me expectantly while nodding to herself in approval.

…

_Exactly like Nero._I think as my MP goes back to full.

"Hey, give up already…" She says as she starts squirming a bit.

_Alright this is about the right time to use that stupid technique that only a moron would use in real combat._

I begin to slowly gather an immense amount of mana to my hand. Then use my other hand to start spinning and compressing the mana slowly but deeply, while activating _B.M._to enhance my regen to it's maximum, and delay the start of the technique.

"You haven't given up yet…?" She says while slightly starting to sweat.

The compressed ball continues to grow, grow far beyond a Focused Energy Bolt with almost maddening slowness.

"...Fight properly already!" Sylph huffs waving her hands; but I notice her barrier is still rock solid and ignore it.

I start finishing up the process, feeling that _Spiral Energy Bolt_is starting to charge off of it's expanded frame.

"Hey, hurry up and attack!" Sylph shouts, while I can tell that she actually is starting to sweat slightly.

I continue charging up the modified version of _Spiral Energy Bolt_, that I called _Energy Bomb_, which takes somewhat less MP, but is slightly stronger should you charge it the full 30 seconds that it can charge; which takes even longer with my meditations. I also add in some of my shorter HP regen effects, further lowering my MP and increasing my charge time.

..

.

"Funyaa… You must be tired, right? ...Right?" She says just as I finish charging the stupidly large, easy to disrupt, and very volatile technique.

"Don't worry." I say calmly, "After, I eat this cookie for good luck, I'll definitely hit you." as I eat the cookie to improve my HP regen, I move as close to her barrier as I dare to. Before activating the shortest and least efficient of my HP regen moves; having kept my MP as close to full as I could while still creating the proper effect.

..

.

"Ok Jaune, but hurry up. I can't hold on…" Sylph says sounding strained, yet completely trusting.

_Exactly like Nero._

With the edge of my _Energy__Bomb_just beyond an arm lengths away from the edge of her wind barrier, I settle stop meditating into order to concentrate on the next part fully.

_Aura Skill, Energy Storm, Javelin, Energy Storm, Aura Burst, Power Strike_

I force the _Energy Bomb _to become a Melee attack, using the energy of the _Javelin _to momentarily make the giant orb of energy into a steel beam sized, unstable, and rectangular shape; which is promptly sent into the wall of wind with enough power to force a genius like Lily into using her Semblance to counter it, _before _you take into account the _Energy Bomb _itself.

*BOOOOOOOM*

_Agony. Pain. Terror._

But that doesn't stop me from reactivating all my Aura boosts, grabbing ahold of every piece of my body that I can, using up the large amounts of the MP that I gained from leveling up from hitting, nor stop my hands from moving, to place 5 more points into INT joining the 5 I had put in at the start of this plan, or stopping them both my limbs from forcefully shoving more cookies into my mouth to speed eat afterwards; even as I soared towards the wall at an even faster speed than when Lily hit me.

In a canopy of sound, briefly surpassing the constant hum of artillery shells ringing throughout the fourth of July, I continue to feel a searing agony, even as sound fades into nothing.

But even as I no longer have eyes to see with, nor ears to hear with, I find myself calmly withdrawing and devouring cookies, briefly regaining my sense of taste, smell, and balance, before it, and everything else is lost in the same way that bugs are lost on windshield wipers.

But even without arms, I focus on _knowing_exactly how little Aura I have left, anddon't even slow down in eating cookies in the slightest.

The life of world flows through me, rejuvenating my Ki as I no longer have enough things going on, to need cease my reflection upon the world. I activate _Energy Storm_to briefly heighten my speed.

An eighth of a minute and twenty cookies later, after activating and re-activating _Energy Storm_, I stop reaching for cookies; knowing even without eyes, that no more healing cookies exist, and calmly use a _Soul Demise_depleting my MP up to all but it's last piece, before going into full meditation mode.

As soon as I have 1 more MP than necessary to use _Soul Demise_, I once more use the skill_to _counter the damage from having temporarily lost half my body.

And repeat it again and again.

Even as I regrow back all my parts, I do not pause.

Nor does regaining all my senses disrupt my meditation.

The only thing I care about, is forcing the negative status buffs that only I can see, to disappear from this world.

So I do not stop, nor notice anything else, until they are gone.

…

..

.

"-une! Jaune Jaune!" A voice buzzes in circles around me.

"Hmm? You were saying something, Sylph?" I say unconsciously being less formal to the being that I now know to be similar to the most… energetic, of my sisters.

"Why did you do that, Jaune!" Sylph looks at me angrily, scary as… well a winged pencil pouch honestly isn't very scary to me at all. Though where would the pencil go in-NOPE

NOPE

NOPE

"Because I knew it would work." I say to all appearances having just let her repeat what she said, several more times at me to reduce her momentum.

With eyes that would be as round like saucers had she not been so tiny, Sylph responds to that statement with more anger.

"You LOST all your LIMBS!" the ball of energy shouts at me, "You had nothing BELOW the WAIST! Half your HEAD was GONE!" it shouts with wind gathering,

"HOW. IS. THAT. WORKING!?" and I ignored the tiny hurricane around us blandly, instead looking thoughtful, as if thinking deeply; a lie but one necessary to deal with someone like Nero.

"Bad things happen to people who contract with Elementals," I say without warning as she gasps, "Because of that, only the strong should attempt to gain the attention of an Elemental. So I spent months preparing for this encounter, use the Wind to know that I tell the truth; and if you are still angry at me then I'm willing to listen." I continue softly but firmly.

"Fine! But if it's not good enough-" The ball huffs at me angrily, regardless of my being able to tell from experience that she's more irritated now than anything else.

"I'll make certain to bake and sacrifice 555 cookies, cookies just like the one I gave you as offerings, to appease your anger." I say falling into the routine that I King of Dance, speaking to the Emperor/Empress that I do with my beloved little sister.

"555!? THAT-I mean, of course you will do it, you summoned me, one of the Four Spirits for a full contract, something not done in half a millennium." sounding wiser and more serious than I ever heard her; I perhaps would actually be impressed if she wasn't drooling.

"Then I will work at creating even better cookies for you should you be unsatisfied with my preparations." I reiterate my promise with a bow.

…

..

.

"What." Sylph says flatly looking lost.

_Hmmm? What is it now._

"Is something the matter, She Who Rules The World's Wind?" I say using a title absorbed as knowledge from the book I read.

"You managed to summon me!" Sylph says, pointing her finger at me with so much anger, (that were she not of comparable size to a toilet paper roll holder, similar to my sister who gets in the same sort of mood easily, and far less vicious than the experienced Dango; who actually sent killing intent at me), that I was almost worried.

_Still… she is obviously distraught so I should explain a bit more._

"That was the entire purpose of my training." I gesture to myself, "Wind is the fastest of all Elements. I see your generosity in using Wind, the Element weakest in direct-defense, to create a Wall of Wind." I say giving her skill and Element proper sounding titles. "Wind is at it's greatest in avoidance."

After a brief pause to take a deep breath I say my honest feelings on the matter.

"'Don't get into a fight you can't win. If you can't avoid that fight then dodge. If you can't dodge then deflect. If you can't deflect then block. If you can't block then survive.' That, including the lack of pauses, if what my grandpa always said. I never fully understood that, until shortly after I gained my power. And since that point I've followed those rules fully. Even as my sister fought, I stayed out of her way despite some part of me wanting to help her. It was part of what made me more focused during that fight. I did only what I could do, and became far stronger as a result. I saved her, because unlike her who put all her energy into winning each fight, I put everything into making sure that we both survived."

I take another deep breath.

"I realised that I was doing too many unnecessary things, and stopped trying to bake the most fancy cake, instead carefully creating the best cake that I could make, to give to Now. I then went into cookie creation. I took losses-great losses-keeping my word, but I still kept my word; despite being tricked. And I trained in the fine control necessary, until I became attuned enough to slightly sense Fire, before truly starting to pursue the Elements. I even visited a true master of Fire, while using a technique inspired off of Wind. Then, I looked specifically for a book on how to summon you. Not Salamander. Not Gnome. Not Undine. But you, Sylph. Because I followed that advice."

"Thats…" Sylph looks deeply touched for a moment before frowning again, "But thats not what I meant!"

_Hmm? If that's not it… then I have nothing._

"Hm… Then I honestly have no idea what you mean." I say what I was thinking in a slightly more polite way, "I apologize for making you angry." I continue with sincerity. "Please tell me what is wrong? I will do my best to help."

"I mean…." Sylph starts while still frowning, "You managed to summon me to this world."

_What._

..

.

_Wait that means…_

"So was the ritual wrong?" I ask of how I summoned her.

_That book legitimately gave me the skill!_

"Not wrong exactly…" the confused Elemental appeared to be thinking uncommonly hard on how to explain what she felt, "Rather… while the… flavor? Of the summoning was slightly different… the power behind it felt... about the same…?" continued the adorable fairy-like creature seeming to not understand what she found wrong with that statement.

_Ah I see._

"My ability appears to slightly twist reality." I confidently confide, in something that seemed too fantastic for me to believe but was possibly the case with what just happened. "So I myself could be considered slightly similar to a separate world; though only in passing." I continue on seriously. "So, the nature of my power is very compatible with other powers that already exist." I finish firmly.

"But… to summon a being from another world…" Sylph says looking slightly alarmed.

"Is no problem." I confidently interject. "Look here," I say taking out the stupid fertility medicine from my inventory, "This is from a different world too." I then check the tutorial box.

…

..

.

"And this is another world, one that according to it's residents, my power creates." I say nodding to my other grayish (though not green) haired companion that started to appear in her normal bouncing dance.

…

..

"Who are YOU!?" twin shouts suddenly cut through the silence of the white nothingness.

**XXX**

_Huh…_

I didn't know that Now was a minor goddess of Light. And it appears that Sylph as The Elemental of Wind, rather than A elemental of Wind, would from the standards of Now be considered a minor goddess of Darkness. And both have bad experiences with the opposite type.

Good thing I have _A Gamer's Mind_. Sylph apparently has a full sized form, one where she apparently feels the need to float, on her back, emphasising her pure white thighs as she takes a position like someone reclining to sunbath, except hovering in the air so you can see, at a slight angle, her crotch is only covered by a bathing suit portion of dress, which apparently changes from looking like a leaf bottom, to being closer to a Vacuo dress; with very open slits at the side.

Or at least that's probably the case seeing as I can see a line that is obviously not part of the her dress in that area; which makes me come to the conclusion that she has no panties. I suppose that she could have really thin underwear.. But it would have to be really thin. She also appears to have gained quite a bit… more in terms of breast size, noticeable even though her position isn't perky and upbeat enough to push up her chest like it was in her earlier fairy form. She is still somewhat below Now though. Whose bouncing in an almost hypnotic manner.

Sylphs eyes remain too large for her face, continuing to give her a pretty innocent look despite the fact that she looks so...interesting.

Maybe it's because she's in her full form, but I really do feel like I'm enjoying seeing her legs; oh they're hitting each other again.

Is that a black thong?

They both have really full ass-

_What the **** am I thinking?_

I need to figure out how to get them to work together, not stare at them like a horny teenaged boy.

Wait… hormones?

Bending reality.

Could titles actually enhance the amount of hormones I have until I start acting like a teenager.

But wouldn't I have-

Wait… did I have any other pop-up?

…

..

.

_I grew up again._

I may even be a bit taller already.

But that isn't a good thing.

When I first got my Semblance, I may have internally grown slightly; enough to make it as if I was closer to ten or possibly eleven if I was already a fast grower. My rapid growth afterwards, when I grew up more times; may have actually been belated growth from what was happening internally. Growing up a few more times, would be enough to put me internally at my lower teens, and my title could have helped my hormones grow at an even faster pace. All of it is just little things… but together…

I think I may have just hit puberty.

In fact, I'm almost certain that I just hit puberty. Since while I was thinking this the two of them ripped enough clothes off each other that I can see pretty much everything. And I feel that the already not very comfortable underwear girls wear… just got smaller. So it's official. I'm (regardless of chronological age), a teenager.

…

..

NOPE

I already said that I'm not going to be morons, be like those other people who drooled at my sisters.

First things, first, the title has to go.

But which title do I use now?

I still haven't gained a Cooking title, nor did I gain a Grimm Killing related title.

So I'm left with only.

**The Fool**

**It's Just Business**

**Basic Poison Taster**

and the two new titles I just gained right now,

**Apprentice Super Roach**

**Super Roach**

**The Fool** enhances _Lying _and _Fool's Act_, which could be helpful outside of battle.

**It's Just Business** says it increases the efficiency of any commercial activity; which is almost impossible for me to measure, but could be helpful outside of battle. I got it by turning in my Faction Quest to level up a mode other than Tycoon Mode, so it's safe to assume it helps me regardless of what mode I'm in.

**Poison Taster** helps against poison, not exactly helpful here.

**Apprentice Super Roach** is nice but…

**Super Roach** is pretty amazing.

**(Super Roach)**

**-Obtained by surviving raw damage beyond 5 times your max HP.**

**-You have a special talent and interest in becoming a Tank!**

**-Continue to excel and become a Master Super Roach.**

**20% defense bonus.**

**50% bonus to HP when taking an attack whose raw damage is at least 5 times your Max HP**

**+10 to all stats when fighting things that are stronger than you.**

**Decreased reputation gain with women below friendly by 30%**

**Increased reputation gain with women at or above friendly by 10%**

**Increased reputation gain with men by 60%**

**Increased stamina by 100% **

**Decreased encounters with Grimm by 20%**

It gives me a passive defense boost at all times, is really helpful against someone of a higher level; like that enforcer will be, would also increase my stamina; allowing me to exert myself fully for a longer period of time than should be possible, and reduces the chance that I'll meet new Grimm.

But it directly attacks my chance reputation gain with women, my primary audience for my cookies.

…

..

.

_Hormones are scary._

I decided to take off my title in thought, but didn't actually take it off until just now, after I finished staring at their newly revealed lower bodies for around three minutes as they continue to claw at each other.

I don't even get what's so interesting!

As the man of the household, I may have stopped taking baths with my mother years ago, but I still saw the visual difference between a woman and a girl in the past. And seeing as how my oldest sisters are in their mid-teens they're not that different. So it shouldn't suddenly be so interesting out of nowhere, even with a title amplifying the effect. I mean, when you have seven sisters, at some point all of them decide through that strange communication girls seem to have, to play doctor with you. Even my youngest sisters wanted to inspect the difference between boys and girls, while it was pretty much just a chore for me.

…

..

.

Good thing they all checked at least once, otherwise they would find my secret out.

Still I'm getting off-track again.

Just because I've been wearing my titles on for the long term, doesn't mean that I have to keep doing that. So all I have to do is just use _Super Roach_ against the Enforcer, survive the fight, then wear _The Fool _afterwards so he thinks less of the fight afterwards. Then switch to… the pervert title while killing Grimm for the video, until I get myself past the 120,000 mark in sales, before switching to _It's Just Business_ to mitigate the effect of losing my higher level titles.

It's the perfect plan!

But for now, I need to stop them from fighting, the defensive boost from _Super Roach_ should work best; since the added stats of either of the _Lady-Killer_ titles won't help me if I'm standing around looking stupid due to hormones.

But first,

*changes clothing to Onesie*

I need to look less like I'm going to die if I'm going to stop this.

…

..

.

**XXX**

Sylph really is an airhead.

Getting them to stop fighting actually pretty easy, before she could really get going, Sylph just _stopped _and was really startled that I was a boy. I explained that I had been dressed as a mascot, and that compared to reality warping abilities; should she really be surprised, and she seemed to accept that after a pause. She then proceeded to contract with me, I even managed to say, (as something I was actually doing to make Now feel better, but looked like a favor I was doing for her), that I wouldn't try to summon any of the other Elementals until I was able to fully use her power.

It was nice when she hugged me.

It's like having another little sister, though I don't think I want her to ever meet Nero.

And it wasn't even in danger of becoming perverted since she was back in her small form.

I have to make things up to Now later, but I think I found a way. She can take a very minimal form that she rarely used, before transforming into a short sword as one of her weapon forms along with a short-bow, or a large hammer. But with effort she can become a long knife for a short time time, and change cosmetic details a bit; something I can use to increase my mimicry of Alice greatly. And since she is a higher level than me, that translates to her weapon being pretty good, not Crocea Mors good, but better than any Knife I could make on my own. She also said that she had experience with magic; especially healing, but still experience with magic. So I should be able to use her with _Aura Burst _if I HAVE to in the upcoming battle, something I wouldn't have been able to properly use with my hands alone at my current level of skill. Then I can reward her with cake; she seems to like those more than cookies, then reward Sylph later for the Beowolf Massacre Video.

It's the same as with my sisters. Acknowledge them for different things and they're happy. Make them share and they're unhappy. With my new situation, no more bath time to help them communicate their disagreements in a relaxed setting though.

…

..

.

I can probably take a bath safely with my youngest sisters even with the pervert title. But even that is only 'probably', I've seen real perverts after all; so I can't risk traumatizing them. But by the time I finish selling cookies, it'll be odd to suddenly go back to taking a bath with them. Well I suppose I can use the bath thing earlier as an excuse. No problem with that. I'll also have to keep my distance from my older sisters; but I should be able to accomplish that by just training more intensely.

And the sheer versatility of the power I feel from Sylph is…

Through the Wind, my senses have expanded. I hear constant, yet somehow not uncomfortable whispers; the voice of the Wind itself. I can sense everything around me, not just large things, like trees in the forest, but even small things, like the number of insects crawling on the ground.

When accessing her power, I instinctively felt that I could make a protection similar (but weaker) than the one that Sylph used. It's formal name is _Wind Protection_. But the true defensive use of this skill is in deflection and avoidance. While it can only deflect smaller things currently, it does it automatically once active, for a set period of time sure, still similar to a buff. It also _does _enhance my own speed somewhat. While my native compatibility (reading affinity go!) with the Wind is high, I still can't use it with magic as much as I'd like to.

Sylph is surprisingly helpful. She taught me some moves, one called '_Bloody Fissure Thunder Thrust_', it's just a fancy name for a high speed lunging attack, that through connection with the Wind does extra damage if used at the start of a fight.

But the second move is the really amazing one.

_Lightning Sword Flash_, where you move like the Wind, vastly increasing your movement speed. The increase in force is enough to match _Aura Burst_, but the sheer speed increase is enough to let me leave a slight after-image, (though currently that only happens when it's combined with all my other movement skills), though it has a downside; I actually move too fast to fully keep up with my own movements-so I would probably get sucker punched at my current level; so I have to use the technique carefully, or not at all, at least in it's strongest combined form, when fighting Humans. It does use up _Wind Protection_if it's up though. So I may actually be better off using the technique before I put up _Wind Protection_to not prematurely dispel my buff, even if it's slower in that case.

And like I thought, Elementals are good at helping cook. After tidying up whatever damage I could to the room (which due to the weight of most of the parts being pretty low was actually not bad with the Wind), I went to cook some Basic Magic Cookies. It appears that I can now impart some temporary +DEXto my cookies. It unfortunately loses most of it's HP/Stam bonuses, so I just made a normal one dozen batch of what I'm now calling my _Speed-Cookies,_and 3 batches of what I'm now terming my _Heal-Cookies_.

I'm still not certain about taking on an Enforcer. But I could probably over-power Lily in most cases now; though she would still win in instantaneous output, I can now probably beat her max (albeit I would have to charge longer than she did and be buffed up). While I'm just level 16, my strength is is closer to someone in their mid-20's now. And that's ignoring that I should already have been upgrading to_Intermediate Aura Skill_, but decided to keep it at Basic. I could have been strong enough to match someone almost level 30 (without extra stats), or be a full match for Lily (though her experience would probably still top me more often than not). So I'm well aware of what my longer term future looks like. As long as I stay calm, I should be able to lose without giving away _A Gamer's Body._

So I'm definitely ready for Adam. I repaired my clothes, and started waiting in a clearing in the forest, an uneventful run; lucky since I wasn't in the mood to fight the Grimm; the clearing was even around where I fought that Ursa in fact.

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Theres always Adam.<em>

_He's… nice._

_Not strong like steroids._

_Nor fast like her._

_Not lucky like that moron._

_But he is still nice._

I bet that's what that asshat thought when he called for me.

Still, to the outside world,

_Tukson called. I responded._

Despite his looks, Tukson _was _one of the original members of the White Fang, practically a grandpa really, but his information's always good, and his hacking skills almost legendary.

The 'little girl' he hacked a picture of, was cute; even I could see that, but so what.

I've been stronger than others my age for years now. While I'm new as an Enforcer, no one, not even a 'specially picked agent' of one of the old Hunter Families should be anything to me.

That isn't 'being melodramatic' as my new student likes to say, (her energy and passion _is _cute, reminds me of how I was several years ago, before _that _happened), but honestly she's the one who see's things that don't exist.

I wasn't born with speed like the kid will eventually achieve.

Nor was I born with great strength like that loser.

Nor did fortune shine down my path like that punk.

I'm man enough to admit that I'm while I'm no fool, I'm no genius either.

But I don't need any of that.

Everytime the world brought me down, I just tried harder.

I only kneeled to my Master because her _Will _was similar to my own; for her power alone.

I am strong. Strong enough to take down lesser Hunters.

And I get stronger by the day.

In 5, maybe 10 years-is what I always thought.

One day I'd lead the White Fang, be strong enough to protect them, strong enough that… _that_would never happen to anyone else.

Compared to that, what was a single girl.

She was tall… or at least taller than she looked on camera, still a midget at less than 155 cm. She looked around my age, so I upgraded her to a 'girl.'

She was just sitting on-I kid you not-a picnic blanket. Sure, the winter in Vale was less bad than other places to the north or south, but…

_Is this girl insane?_

"Will you join my tea party, good sir?" a high pitched voice asked of me without moving in the slightest.

_As expected of an agent._I think inwardly, while outwardly just silently landing on the other side of the clearing.

She turned to me, and very dark blue eyes looked at me, appearing to study my face intently.

"Congratulations on your recent promotion." the girl said with a smile, "I did not expect them to send a Rising Star among the White Fang for this."

As she said it in the same prissy and annoying way as other well-brought up girls, I didn't exactly feel any pressure; people fish for information all the time.

She suddenly looked quite puzzled, before saying something that shifted my perception completely.

"Do you prefer Sir Taurus, or Adam." She continued while brightening up like the sun.

But I didn't really notice that, as I was busy slicing her head off.

*CLANG*

She deflected _my_iaido, with a knife!

No more warning shots, this time I'll do it for real.

But just as my posture shifted, she suddenly disappeared.

_After-image!?_

*BANG*

A thrust charged with Lightning would kill most ordinary swordsmen, even without being at a speed that was barely seeable to a professional.

But I wasn't ordinary.

Even as I barely read her movement, my training kicked in. I released my own counter Aura, powerful by itself but nothing compared to hers. Yet overpowering was not the point, deflection was. Naturally she still overpowered me, sending me flying away, but I took no damage and had landed on a tree in defensive position; ready for anything that she could send back at me.

_Speeds I could barely see has been the normal since I started training with that woman._

Contrary to my expectations, the girl smiled while looking at my face.

"You are quite the pretty boy aren't you?" she said with a hint of amusement, "Very unexpected of an Enforcer."

And tossed me something.

..

.

_What_

It was my mask.

My mask… that I didn't even see her steal.

As I felt an immense amount of Aura flowing from the girl, who had information on even an obscure person like me, a threat not just in information, but a true threat in battle as well.

_Seems like this'll be fun._

As if that thought had been the signal, she suddenly threw out dozens of blasts of Aura.

_Fast, but…_

As I quietly dodge the first round, making my way closer to her.

_Too many come from your fingers. Reading and reacting to the breath, slight twitches, Ki, and overall flow is the basics of all martial arts._

But even as I got closer, she just smiled.

"Gah." I unintentionally let out my voice, as my leg was hit despite how-

_Shit they have some tracking capabilities!_

As I weaved my way closer to her, I continued to think, now extending my senses completely.

_Each of them are weak, nothing compared to even my weakest attack._

Then I realised it.

_That was not the point._

I never was a superman, my endurance came from the will to endure my training, rather than natural talent. The power at her fingertips weren't enough to disable me, but slow me down slightly it did.

_She got me to charge like a stupid bull, so she could slow me down enough to finish me!_

…

..

.

Three minutes later.

I was full of wounds and had slowed down greatly.

Continuing that barrage probably would have meant my death.

But I never ran, and I wouldn't start today.

So I held my ground, conserving energy, getting ready for the fight of my life.

And she just stood there.

"You _really _are good, aren't you." she said, smiling at me like she knew something I didn't know, with that same calm poise, same 'lady-like' poise that no Faunus would ever be allowed to have.

_Fuck it. I'm going to shove my sword-!_

_I'll use that technique_, I think forcefully calming myself down, while she looks even more amused, as if she sensed my momentary shift in feelings.

As I activated the movement technique my Master taught me; one I had yet to fully master; she moved into close range.

And in several clashes of our blades I felt it.

Average speed was below mine.

Skill was _way_ beneath me.

But the power was _absurd _enough to make up for it.

The weakest swing of her Knife was nearly at the level as a quick iaido.

The fullest power she used beyond anything but my imperfect moonslice.

And that Knife was light enough that she was attacking faster than me.

_At this rate, I'll be dead in ten minutes_, I thought while remaining mostly calm; to an amused twinkle in her eyes as we suddenly were even in power, as she-

"Boom" She said, as a larger version of her previous blasts of Aura hit both of us at close range; coming from her palm lightly touching my chest.

As I twitched in the last moment she only got a bit of my shoulder.

_Still, I'll be sliced off one piece at a time at this rate._

So I switched back to offense; ignoring the blow she got on my leg as I shifted patterns fully.

But as the clashes moved on to dozens, then hundreds, where I even felt myself starting to overpower her…

_It seems that was a mistake._

To counter power, I used speed.

I fell on her like a blazing comet, enough to outpace her Knife fully.

I got a few hits but then...

She-smiled at me-once more.

And wind started weakening my blows.

_Needed more study in wind my ass!_

So I backed away.

_I backed away,_

and she _let _me.

"Like Arthuria in personality, but Lily in fighting style" is what she said.

I wanted to ask who those two were, but I caught myself on time.

Seems like it wasn't enough.

She actually _closed _her eyes, while smiling.

Then said, "They are like little sisters to me." looking at me with a genuine smile.

I stared at her for a moment,

before realising what she implied.

_She is talking trash with me, saying I'm like a little girl!_

I snarled and almost snapped, barely managing to keep my cool, not because I forgave that insult, but because I wouldn't win if I did so.

In the clearing widened by our fight I breathed in deep. Keeping my cool, while letting the flames of my fury force a level of control that was previously lacking in my moonslice.

_Like Water._

_Flowing down a hill._

_The motion is natural._

I felt like I understood what my master meant while attempting to change my moonslice into a true **Moonslice**.

"The waves"

"Will simply"

"Cut"

"Everything."

Yet even as I prepared, feeling connected to the Water that was my birth Element.

She just stood there,looking very calm, peaceful, and proper.

Something that I didn't even dignify with a stray thought.

So I blasted her face in, crushing her attempted counter completely.

As the state of mind shattered, I felt it.

A good clean, solid hit.

Only a high class Hunter could take-

She then stood up only moderately injured, and still smiling; dusting herself off like nothing had happened.

"It may be a bit stronger than Siegy," this absurd girl said just as calmly as when we started this fight, "Still you did very well." she said smiling at, and complimenting me sincerely.

Then she started eating cookies, saying at the dumbfounded look on my face,

"But Jeanne Jeanne is a mascot you see!", even tossing a bag over to me.

Wordlessly I stared at the bag. Then stared at the girl who was barely modest after my Moonslice, shrugged, and ate the cookies.

_Best set of cookies I've ever eaten. _

I actually felt like my wounds were healing; something happening more fully with her own more minor injuries.

"Now that we've snacked, shall we continue this on to round 2?" she said with another smile at me, and that same sense of amusement.

She didn't have any Aura behind those words.

No sense of intimidation.

It was like it was just a game for her.

_Fuck that. _I thought. "I've seen enough" is what I said.

And she said that she'd "Look forward to our rematch then." Then she looked at me seriously, "You really are good you know. As a magical-girl, being forced into melee… unless Sir Adam has an objection, may I declare this match a draw?"

I accepted the draw and left.

But, on my way back to report my findings, I couldn't help but think...

_I really want to fight her again..._

* * *

><p><strong>XXX<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Good thing that guy was an idiot.<em>

He was level 29, had enough bonus points to be level 35, and since Sieglinde was only had around two levels of bonus points, they were only 3 levels apart in raw stats.

So he was about 10 levels higher than my own estimated stats.

He was 16; and so listed as a year older than Sieglinde, but depending on when he was born… I was still fighting someone who trained hard enough to force growth on himself through training, rather than on gaining experience.

His strikes were heavy.

Thanks to my almost magical growth, I could see both his base and enhanced stats.

His Aura doesn't add to LUK at all.

But it especially appeared to add to INT in comparison to his other stats; but his MP wasn't very large, so I could tell something was up.

Which is why despite his high physical stats, and his style being mostly based on fast and light attacks; each heavy enough that each of his iaido blows needed a _Power Strike_to even with him, I remained cautious. I had felt his power with his first half serious blow; no way was I going to fight him in close range; especially since I was almost certain that my half-assed swordsmanship was beneath him; and probably not fully applying due to wielding a Knife, so he would definitely beat me in pretty much every blow.

So I went for random, using various combinations of _Aura Burst _and _Energy Storm _to overwhelm him and his superior skill. _Rip_may be absurdly fast, fast enough to steal his mask, but it was still just a simple bluff.

And if I hadn't decided that I wouldn't have been able to beat him in melee from the moment I saw how much he had trained his base stats…

I wouldn't have stood a chance.

With magic alone, I would have ran out of MP before he ran out of HP.

_And that guy was…_

_A real idiot._

Fighting me should have meant nothing. A meet and greet. Some posturing. But he… I could feel the same feeling as when I protected Nero. For him to feel that way, over such a small matter…

_He's really an idiot._

Still, that idiot was good enough that, even though I talked to him whenever I could; using full meditate for even a few seconds, I was still really glad when he backed off to charge a super move.

Over a minute was enough time to meditate a hundreds of MP after all.

Still, I hadn't even been able to use _Lightning Sword Flash_; I needed even that weak barrier for when I got knocked back and to replace it before I fell through a few dozen trees.

My extreme defensive focus, combined with _Super Roach_, should have allowed me to take on even a hit from Lily. But I was three-fourths dead from a single blow, and started bleeding as a sign of that. I made stuff up while he was confused about my actually surviving his super move, something that I would have been surprised about had I been on the other side as well, in order to eat the Heal-Cookies.

I even gave him some of them, and bluffed that I actually had enough in me to go a second round.

_Ha!_

I could see that he still had around 30% of his Aura left, and with almost zero Aura in my tank, I would have become a dressed up pinata; I even had the tattered clothing look down, within the first ten seconds.

But luckily he left. I even managed to say that I would fight him again-with only magic next time-since I had no intention of fighting a dedicated swordsman in a sword fight. Especially since that super move he channeled through his sword; was unstable enough that it was probably incomplete. When he mastered that, and used it in every one of his sword strikes.

NOPE would probably become his default response to everything.

I almost wet my pants when he looked at me intensely after I rechallenged him.

While I was bluffing on being able to fight some more, that just confirmed that he was an idiot.

Since I need to improve my sword technique to keep up with him, I need to go back to being Jaune Arc for a while. He let me have that draw, giving me vital experience, but he's still stronger than I am.

I should be able to make a circuit of the local Grimm, fighting the strongest ones when I have lots of MP, then go to fight the weaklings when I don't have much MP.

I'll even do it in a cheap armor so nobody will notice it's me!

That should provide the weight training I need. That'll help upgrade my control over wind enough to use fully with my magic, and then the video can be done as "Jeanne Jeanne's One Day Cookie Quest". Since if I kill enough weaker Grimm, I can probably pull a horde of them into attacking me, fitting 10,000 in a day.

* * *

><p>XXX<p>

* * *

><p><em>I missed it.<em>

The super cook, who makes Super Cookies came.

And I was at the library.

_Despite making eating more bags of Super Cookies as I had hands and toes my New Years Resolution,_

_I missed it._

But she, I had a gender now, revealed what I needed to do earn those cookies.

So I'm going to get stronger.

If I become a Heroine, I'll be strong enough to protect others, and have my cookies, and eat them too!

Nobody will notice that missing broom.

_Time to go fight a Beowolf!_

* * *

><p><strong>AN<strong>

* * *

><p>So yeah. <strong>Monster Girl Quest<strong> Elementals. Rather than an ordinary elemental. Due to the propaganda (ironically) being a real technique-if you had the ability to assess other words.

But he won't get the other Elementals for a while, because it's not as easy as gaining levels to master that world's Elementals.

The debut of Jeanne Jeanne.

Taiyang who once could have been Jaunes brother.

Lily the less serious twin.

The funny I was trying for from when Now first thought that Jaune was really tall.

And switching titles since he now feels the full negative effects of his title.

He also made a bunch of girls faint from eating his cookies.

Not everyone is a heavy-weight cookie eating champion like Ruby.

The weapon form for Now.

Adam the awesome.

And Ruby who is about to meet Jaune in a way slightly different than canon.

I hope having a battle from Adam's POV, helps show the marked difference between how Jaune see's his fights (loser spamming skills, losing badly is natural, hilarious if he somehow actually wins) versus (How is this boy/girl doing this?) which is what everyone else thinks.

He also thinks that being able to think so calmly regardless of the circumstances makes him WEAKER than people who can just go with the flow. Then he does (very casually) something almost retarded. Using a stronger skill than The Gamer's 'I killed a Legion Zombie'-a massive blob of HP, when more than 15 levels lower than it. He found the usefulness of _Rip_in cooking and disarming others. But didn't actually try to take Adam's sword (which at that early stage where Adam was still underestimating him could have actually worked). Same with his _Dish Washing _and _Cleaning _skills.

Since he didn't feel any different, he didn't really get how his disguise being perfect actually meant that he would be perceived as a girl even to most levels of 'extra' senses, unless the effect broke, putting it down to Sylph being an airhead instead.

It's also why Sylph was ready to make a contract with him so easily. Since MGQ had female monsters trying to borrow the Elementals powers, but very few males able to use their powers; so she didn't bother looking into how Jaune would use her ability, (based on what he'd been doing in the past according to the wind), so she didn't see anything questionable about helping Jaune out.

I also hope that having Adam have so many extra points, from having fought since he was very little, is realistic to you. And naturally, Adam thinks less of his latent potential than most people around him do; similar yet different from Ruby. As well as hope that the difference in writing style between the two; making Jaune use lots of unnecessary words, and spend a great deal of time talking around a point, versus the more direct, but still starting to silently analyze things as Water Adam, makes sense. I also hope that his plan didn't seem to come out of nowhere-I was trying to get how Jaune really didn't want to test the limits of _A Gamer's Body/Mind_ before, but with familiarity started using it more and more over the story. He also saw when he got his EXP from quests, and so was finally blasé enough to let himself get nearly killed in the space to his level, since the HP bar doesn't go down to nothing instantly, use the level up to regain his stats, just in time for it to go down again, all while healing like mad.

I also tried to set up that he was making a lot of skills that he dismissed as worthless, with the mentioned ones just being a few of them, with how he doesn't mention things unimportant to him. But you can judge how successful that was. For this particular power-up scene. Since I wanted to contrast the idea that, as a Semblance, rather than getting support from Gaia, someone would have their full power as a Gamer; hence all the upgrading going on.

Still, while Jaune had mostly calculated it all out, it wasn't perfect; the Wind that Sylph controls could amplify his own force and do more damage if he was unlucky, so his calculations still relied on some luck. Jaune just saw, between most likely dying to someone called an Enforcer, and only dying if you're unlucky to a potential ally, that he was better off here. But it just wasn't something worth thinking about when he needed to prepare to fight, and before that was affected by Super Puberty.

And yes, Ruby will get the 'Super Cookies', as she thinks of them, someday. Though since she's already a cookie eating champion… ironically she is one of the few who can eat Magic Cookies without any protection from negative side effects.

Jaune is acting logically for him.

I have puberty. Must hide it or I'll get teased.

But he looks even weirder to his sisters; like he forced himself into going with their normal antics, and suddenly doesn't want to go with them anymore. Especially since off screen he just celebrated some birthdays, and gave some Boxing Day gifts; making his shift really strange, despite Jaune himself seeing no problem.

He also didn't feel like he was really doing anything odd talking to Adam. Since he was so calm, the fight was both a really big deal and not a really big deal at the same time. But Adam saw it in a completely different fashion.

He did still catch the 'I want to fight him again Shounen Syndrome', then make excuses for it.

I wanted to fit in more viewpoints, but Jaune still ended up hogging the show.

At least next chapter should work a bit better, since even more viewpoints are opened up now.

Still, Merry Christmas and Happy Boxing Day to everyone.

I'll try to get another chapter, though probably shorter, out on New Years Day.


End file.
